After bouncing back from defeat in the league last weekend with a 7-0 win in the cup in midweek, Galatasaray will be hoping they can carry that momentum into their fixture against Alanyaspor at Nef Stadium on Sunday.
Francesco Farioli's side picked up a win last weekend, ending a run of three games without a victory, and will be hoping to pick up another three points in this match.
Match preview
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Galatasaray have made a steady start to this campaign after a disappointing 16th-placed finish last season, which led to the sacking of Domenec Torrent and the hiring of current manager Okan Buruk.
Buruk has made his side hard to beat, as they have only conceded seven times in their opening nine league games, with goalkeeper and captain Fernando Muslera keeping four clean sheets. Abdulkerim Bardakci, who signed for Konyaspor in the summer, has also been a key part of their defence.
At the other end of the pitch, it is not going so well, with only 10 goals scored in nine league games. When looking at the names in the Galatasaray attack, this is quite surprising, with the likes of Dries Mertens and Mauro Icardi leading the forward line. Both have not contributed to a goal yet, but Icardi only made his first start last weekend, so his influence should become clearer over the next few weeks.
Juan Mata also started his first game for the club in their last fixture, with Buruk looking for solutions in his attack, but he could not provide the spark they were looking for. Baris Alper Yilmaz came off the bench to score a late consolation goal but more will be needed from these attacking players if Galatasaray want to challenge for the title.
A win in this fixture could move them up to as high as second in the table, as it is still pretty tight at the top with Buruk's side sitting in seventh place, just four points off the top.
After a disappointing defeat to Hatayspor, Alanyaspor will be pleased that they bounced back with a 3-2 victory against Antalyaspor, which included Arnaud Lusamba's first goal for the club.
If they are to keep up that momentum in this fixture, there will need to be an upturn in their form away from home, as they have only won once in five games this season, and have conceded 11 goals in away matches.
Farioli's side have also only scored five times in away fixtures so far this season, with four of those goals coming in their first game of the season, in a 4-2 victory against Faith Karagumruk. They will be hoping that Ahmed Hassan scoring his second goal for the club last weekend can give him the confidence to become the prolific striker they need.
With a win in this fixture, Alanyaspor could enter the top half of the table and move to within two points of their opposition for this game, Galatasaray.
Team News
Kazimcan Karatas returned to the starting lineup in the last fixture after missing the game against Adana Demirspor, and will most likely keep his place in the defence.
Argentinian forward Mauro Icardi started his first game for Galatasaray last weekend and may start again in this fixture but Buruk has other options he could choose from including top scorer so far this season, Bafetimbi Gomis.
Farioli has used the 4-3-3 formation in the last two fixtures for Alanyaspor, with a front of Daniel Candeias, Ahmed Hassan and Efecan Karaca being deployed. As they won their last game, this would be the expected formation and front three for this fixture.
Efkan Bekiroglu was the only player to keep his place in the midfield from the last game, with Leroy Fer and Arnaud Lusamba coming into the side. As they won the game and Lusamba scored his first goal, this would be the expected midfield for this fixture too.
Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Muslera; Karatas, Bardakci, Nelsson, Boey; Midtsjo, Torreira, Mertens, Mata, Akgun; Icardi
Alanyaspor possible starting lineup:
Runarsson; Ozdemir, Rassoul, Bayir, Aksoy; Bekiroglu, Fer, Lusamba; Candeias, Hassan, Karaca
We say: Galatasaray 2-1 Alanyaspor
This game should be a tight affair, with the quality of Galatasaray being the likely reason for them to win this game. Alanyaspor also struggle away from home, so this gives another slight edge to Galatasaray, which should see them over the line.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
