Fatih Karagumruk will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run in the Turkish Super Lig when they host Istanbul Basaksehir at Ataturk Olimpiyat Stadi on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts are enjoying a good run of form in the league, whereas their visitors on Sunday Basaksehir have been struggling in Turkey and on the continent in recent matches.
Match preview
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Fatih extended their unbeaten run in the league to nine matches last Friday with a 2-2 draw away at Giresunspor, with goals from Levent Mercan and Fabio Borini forcing a share of the spoils.
The only side Andrea Pirlo's men have lost to in 2023 are their visitors on Sunday, although even that was only via penalty kicks in the last 16 of the Turkish Cup in January.
Pirlo's side have moved up to ninth in the Super Lig standings over the past few weeks, now holding a healthy six-point advantage over Sivasspor in the highest of the relegation places.
Karagumruk faced the aforementioned Sivasspor in their most-recent home fixture, with ex-West Bromwich Albion striker Mbaye Diagne netting a hat-trick as the hosts that day won a seven-goal thriller 4-3.
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Istanbul Basaksehir are enduring a five-game winless run which has seen them lose ground in the race for European places, as well as their place in European competition this season.
The Turkish club conceded four goals within six first-half minutes against Gent in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night, a disastrous period in the game which cost Emre Belozoglu's men a place in the quarter-finals.
Supporters will be hoping they never see Gent's hat-trick hero Gift Orban line up against them again, but they must now all focus on finishing the domestic season strongly.
Basaksehir are sixth in the Super Lig table, six points behind third-placed Besiktas, meaning it is going to be a struggle for Belozoglu's side to earn European football for next campaign.
Team News
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Fatih will be without Efe Tatli on Sunday due to the 20-year-old suffering a cruciate ligament injury last year - the midfielder is set to be sidelined for the remainder of the campaign.
Efecan Mizrakci and Emir Tintis are both doubts for the hosts, with the former still suffering from an ankle injury sustained at the start of January.
Basaksehir winger Adnan Januzaj will begin his two-match suspension for picking up a straight red card in his side's home loss to Besiktas last Sunday.
Israeli midfielder Eden Karzev suffered a muscle injury following the first leg of their Conference League clash with Gent, and the 22-year-old is expected to return to action at the beginning of April.
Fatih Karagumruk possible starting lineup:
Sen; Biraschi, Baniya, Dresevic, Mercan; Bertolacci, Ricci, Ozdoev; Colley, Diagne, Borini
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Babacan; Sahiner, Duarte, Touba, De Lima; Biglia, Aleksic, Tekdemir; Turuc, Chuka, Gurler
We say: Fatih Karagumruk 2-1 Istanbul Basaksehir
Fatih are moving clear of any relegation worries with a string of good results, and they will be confident of extending that run against a visiting side who are struggling at the moment.
Basaksehir were dumped out of Europe on Thursday night and now face a tough away assignment, one which we believe will be fruitless on Sunday afternoon.
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