Two teams at opposite ends of the Turkish Super Lig table will clash on Saturday when Istanbul Basaksehir host Kayserispor at Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadyumu.
The hosts occupy fifth place with 13 points from six matches, while the visitors are languishing in 17th place with three points from the same number of games.
Match preview
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Istanbul were in action on Thursday, kicking off their Europa Conference League campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Rapid Vienna on home soil.
While the Grey Owls will have to wait until October 24 to bounce back on the European stage when they face Celje on match day two, they did so on the domestic front last time out.
Coming from a first defeat of the season with a 2-0 loss away at Samsunspor, Cagdas Atan's men had to respond quickly, and they did so in a positive manner with a 2-1 win away at Sivasspor last Friday.
The win saw Istanbul reduce their points behind league leaders Galatasaray to six, having played one fewer game, while they remain two points behind fourth-placed Samsunspor who have also played one more game.
The Grey Owls will look to maintain their momentum when they take on Kayserispor on home soil, a side they have not beaten in their last three meetings, losing twice and drawing one.
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Meanwhile, Kayserispor will hope to replicate their performance away at Basaksehir last season, when they triumphed 3-2 and were already 2-0 up by the 15th minute.
However, it is a tall order at this time given the Anatolian Star's poor start to the season, as they remain one of the three sides yet to record a victory in the Super Lig this campaign.
A 3-0 defeat to Besiktas on home soil in their last league outing was the tipping point for Burak Yilmaz, who resigned from the managerial role, leaving Kayserispor without a full-time manager heading into this clash.
The Anatolian Star could lose three straight matches in the Super Lig for the first time since losing seven consecutive league matches between December 2023 and January 2024.
Team News
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Istanbul will enter this match with just one player unavailable, and that is Omer Ali Sahiner, who is sidelined with a muscle injury until mid-October.
Joao Figueiredo and Krzysztof Piatek, who have scored five and four league goals respectively, will be the players to watch for the home side in this clash.
Meanwhile, the visitors will remain without centre-back Majid Hosseini, who misses the game due to a foot injury expected to keep him out for the next couple of weeks.
Kayserispor have had five different scorers this season for their five goals scored, but Duckens Nazon has directly contributed to three goals, which is more than anyone else in the side.
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Sengezer; Ozdemir, Ba, Opoku, Kemen; Ergun; Turuc, Crespo, Figueiredo, Gurler; Piatek
Kayserispor possible starting lineup:
Piri; Sazdagi, Attamah, Kolovetsios, Carole; Yilmaz; Morte, Cardoso, Bourabia, Kaldirim; Nazon
We say: Istanbul Basaksehir 3-1 Kayserispor
Istanbul have made an impressive start to the season, and their ability to bounce back from their first defeat demonstrates their mentality – combined with their quality, it will be too much for a team in turmoil like Kayserispor to handle, which is why we are predicting a home victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
