One of the two frontrunners in the Turkish Super Lig title race, Galatasaray, aim to maintain the heat on their rivals when they welcome Kayserispor to the RAMS Stadium on Monday evening.
The home side are trailing old rivals Fenerbahce by two points after Thursday's slip up, while the visitors sit three points adrift of the final European berth.
Match preview
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Held to a 1-1 draw by Sivasspor in their last outing, Galatasaray find themselves trailing city rivals Fenerbahce in the title chase at the season's midpoint, despite reaching 48 points from 19 matches.
Kerem Demirbay put Gala ahead in first-half stoppage time but Bengali-Fode Koita restored parity for the Sivas-based side from the spot with four minutes left to play in normal time.
Dominant in possession and shots, Okan Buruk's men spurned chance after chance and were dealt a double blow as Kerem Akturkoglu was sent off in stoppage time for a second bookable offence.
The Lions' title charge has been built upon a rock-solid defence, having conceded the fewest goals in the league so far (10). However, they have scored 20 fewer goals than Fenerbahce, and will need to sharpen their attack quickly if they want to keep pace with their old rivals.
Their next opponents are a side they have held a stranglehold over, securing victories in 23 out of 40 encounters, with 13 draws and only four defeats.
With nine victories from nine home games this season, Buruk's side have turned their home ground into an impenetrable domain, and they will seek to extend their impregnable home run on Monday.
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Kayserispor's woes deepened as their losing streak stretched to four games after a 4-1 defeat to Fatih Karagumruk last time out.
The Anatolian Stars found themselves three goals down within the opening 41 minutes through a Marcus Rohden hat-trick. Although Aylton Boa Morte reduced the deficit just before half time, the Kayseri-based side conceded a fourth in the second half.
Recep Ucar's side were solid in the opening 15 league matches which had them in the top four, but they have hit a wall since December 20, losing every league game since then and this has seen them tumble to sixth place in the standings, now trailing the coveted final European spot by three points after 19 games.
A significant test lies ahead for the Anatolian Stars as they travel to face Galatasaray, aiming to arrest their recent slide and salvage a season that looked promising after the first 15 matches.
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Team News
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Galatasaray will be without star striker Mauro Icardi, who suffered a facial fracture during the recent Istanbul derby, while Sergio Oliviera and Davinson Sanchez are also sidelined.
Sacha Boey, who has not featured for the last two matches, also has doubts surrounding his fitness for this clash.
Hakim Ziyech and Cedric Bakambu have left to represent Morocco and DR Congo respectively at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Akturkoglu serves a one-match suspension for the red card he received against Sivasspor, and could be replaced by Baris Yilmaz.
Kayserispor will also be without Julian Jeanvier, Carlos Mane, Majid Hosseini and Olivier Kemen, who have all gone to represent their countries at continental tournaments.
Lionel Carole and Anthony Uzodimma are nursing muscle injuries that will keep them out until later this month.
Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Muslera; Bulbul, Nelsson, Bardakci, Karatas; Demirbay, Torreira; Zaha, Mertens, Yilmaz; Dervisoglu
Kayserispor possible starting lineup:
Bayazit; Sazdagi, Kolovetsios, Kocaman, Kaldirim; Karimi, Yilmaz, Ackah; Thiam, Boa Morte, Bahoken
We say: Galatasaray 2-0 Kayserispor
Galatasaray are outright favourites for this one as they will have too much for Kayserispor to handle. The Lions have been outstanding at home this season and we are backing them to preserve their perfect record on home turf against the faltering Anatolian Stars.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
