The standout fixture in round 34 of the 2023-24 Turkish Super Lig campaign sees Fenerbahce and Besiktas lock horns at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on Saturday.
Both teams had to make do with a share of the spoils last time out and will be looking to go one better by coming out on top this weekend.
Match preview
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Fenerbahce suffered a huge blow in their title challenge in a 2-2 stalemate against Sivasspor at the Yeni 4 Eylul Stadyumu on Monday.
Ismail Kartal's men got their noses in front thanks to Fred but were soon pegged back by Fode Koita, although they did manage to regain their advantage through Irfan Kahveci, only for Rey Manaj to level matters from the penalty spot.
As a result, the Yellow Canaries have now fallen four points adrift of city rivals Galatasaray at the summit of the Turkish Super Lig table.
Lying in store next is the challenge of an opposing outfit with little to separate the sides over the last six meetings, which have yielded one win apiece and four draws.
Having been beaten in just one of 14 home matches heading into Saturday's affair, the hosts will fancy their chances of securing a much-needed win in the quest for domestic glory.
Besiktas played out a goalless stalemate against Ankaragucu in the semi-finals of this year's Turkiye Kupasi at the Eryaman Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Serdar Topraktepe's men failed to muster any significant attacking threat throughout the contest and were a tad lucky to have come away unscathed.
Prior to that, the Black Eagles claimed a 2-0 victory over Ankaragucu to retain fourth place in the standings and keep their European ambitions alive.
Goalless in three of their last five away outings across all competitions, Saturday's visitors will need to up the ante at the top end of the pitch this weekend.
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Team News
Onur Bulut and Semih Kilicsoy are both ruled out for Besiktas with muscle injuries, while Ante Rebic continues his personal battle with a thigh problem.
The visitors are also missing the services of Amir Hadziahmetovic through a knee injury, which has seen him fail to feature since the second week of January as Jonas Svensson prepares to serve a one-game ban.
Defender Serkan Terzi remains a major doubt for this one having come off with an injury scare in the first half of his side's last league involvement.
Fenerbahce's Luan Peres still awaits his first appearance of the season due to a damaged knee, and the Brazilian is still a fair way off making his return to action.
Twenty-eight-year-old Irfan Kahveci has found the back of the net in two of his last three outings and will be looking to deliver the goods once again.
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Livakovic; Kadioglu, Djiku, Becao, Osayi-Samuel; Fred, Yuksek; Tadic, Szymanski, Kahveci; Dzeko
Besiktas possible starting lineup:
Destanoglu; Sanuc, Uysal, Worrall, Amartey; Fernandes, Al Musrati; Rashica, Muci, Ghezzal; Muleka
We say: Fenerbahce 2-1 Besiktas
This fixture has been characterised by goals over the years, and we expect the trend to continue here. We can also see Fenerbahce coming out on top at the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adepoju Marvellous
