Istanbul Basaksehir take on Galatasaray at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium on Saturday afternoon, in the latest round of Turkish Super Lig fixtures.
After their opening four games, the hosts are 16th in the table, having made a slow start to the season, while the visitors are up in second place.
Match preview
Istanbul have not made the best of starts to the season, having taken just three points from their opening four games, which leaves them just outside the relegation zone.
The Grey Owls lost their first three matches without scoring a single goal, coming up short in a 2-0 defeat at Alanyaspor on the first day of the campaign in what was a very disappointing performance.
After the loss on the opening day of the season, Cagdas Atan's side had the opportunity to bounce back at home against Karagumruk, but they were once again below par, suffering a 2-0 defeat to compound their poor start to the season.
A 1-0 defeat at home against Konyaspor followed, but Istanbul finally managed to get their first win on the board last weekend, in what was a dominant performance against Istanbulspor, securing a 2-0 victory courtesy of goals from Dimitrios Pelkas and Joao Figueiredo.
However, the Grey Owls are set for what is likely to be their toughest test of the season on Saturday, against a side they lost 7-0 against on home soil in the 2022-23 season.
Indeed, Galatasaray were extremely dominant in their last visit to the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium en route to winning the Turkish Super Lig title by eight points, and they have made a solid start to the 2023-24 campaign.
Gala have taken 10 points from their opening four games, having won their last three Turkish Super Lig games on the bounce, meaning they are right up there near the top of the table at this early stage of the season.
Not only that, but Okan Buruk's side managed to book their place in the group stages of the Champions League, defeating Molde 5-3 over two legs, and they have since gone on to play their first match in Europe's elite competition.
Last time out, Galatasaray fought back from a two-goal deficit at home against Copenhagen to draw 2-2, with Sacha Boey and Tete scoring after the 85-minute mark, and they will be hoping to carry that momentum into Saturday's match.
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Team News
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Istanbul will be without Patryk Szysz, as the forward remains sidelined with a knee injury, but Atan otherwise has a fully-fit squad to choose from.
The manager may choose to hand Figueiredo a start in attack, after the Brazilian scored the second goal as a substitute last time out, with Krzysztof Piatek dropping to the bench.
Two Galatasaray substitutes changed the game against Copenhagen, with Tete scoring the equalising goal, which was set up by Wilfried Zaha, and the duo are in line to come back into the starting lineup this weekend.
In order to make way for Zaha and Tete, Dries Mertens and Kerem Akturkoglu could drop the bench.
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Babacan; Kartsev, Duarte, Sertel, Lima; Turuc, Ozcan, Aleksic, Gurler; Pelkas, Figueiredo
Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Muslera; Boey, Nelsson, Bardakci, Angelino; Demirbay, Torreira, Ziyech, Tete, Zaha; Icardi
We say: Istanbul Basaksehir 0-2 Galatasaray
Galatasaray won the league title by an eight-point margin last season, and they have made a very solid start to the ongoing campaign, having won their last three league games on the spin.
Given that Istanbul Basaksehir have been very poor up to this point, we expect the visitors to record a relatively comfortable victory this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Dominic Lund
