Preview: Ankaragucu vs. Galatasaray - prediction, team news, lineups

The hosts played out a thrilling draw with Istanbul Basaksehir last time out but exited the Turkish Cup on aggregate, whilst Galatasaray took another step towards the title with victory over Sivasspor.

Match preview

Ankaragucu return to league action this weekend after losing out to Basaksehir in their Turkish Cup semi-final - a 2-2 draw at Eryaman Stadyumu was not enough to secure a spot in the final after Istanbul's Joao Figueiredo bagged the only goal in the first leg.

Tolunay Kafkas has guided his side to Super Lig safety after their promotion from the second tier last season, with a top-half finish still possible for the club.

The Ankara-based outfit are 12th in the league standings, with ninth-placed Fatih Karagumruk just five points ahead with three matches left to play in this thrilling Super Lig campaign.

Key to Ankaragucu's success this term has been the goalscoring habits of Ali Sowe - the Gambia international leads the club's scoring charts with 12 strikes, three times more than his closest contender Giorgi Beridze.

Galatasaray travel to Ankara on Sunday off the back of three-straight wins in the Super Lig, with the most recent of those victories coming against Sivasspor last Saturday.

Mauro Icardi bagged a brace for Cimbom as they easily saw off Riza Calimbay's visitors, meaning the league leaders have now won 14 of their 17 league home matches this term.

Okan Buruk's side have only lost two matches in the Super Lig since the turn of the year, although a source of slight encouragement for Ankaragucu will be that both of those defeats came away from NEF Stadyumu at Besiktas and Konyaspor.

Veteran goalkeeper Fernando Muslera has been a commanding force at the back of the visitors' XI so far this season - the 36-year-old has kept 15 clean sheets in 31 league appearances.

Currently five points ahead of second-placed Fenerbahce in the league table, Cimbom know maximum points in their final two matches will secure the league title just a year after finishing 13th.

Ankaragucu Turkish Super Lig form:

L

W

D

L

D

W

Ankaragucu form (all competitions):

D

L

L

D

W

D

Galatasaray Turkish Super Lig form:

W

D

L

W

W

W

Team News

Ankaragucu will be without Greek winger Anastasios Chatzigiovanis when the league leaders come to town on Tuesday, with the 25-year-old hoping to be able to play some part in his side's final three matches.

A player in a similar situation is centre-back Uros Radakovic who has been sidelined for nearly a month owing to a knee injury - Nihad Mujakic, Arda Kizildag and Kevin Malcuit will form the hosts' backline in this one.

Galatasaray attacker Nicolo Zaniolo will serve the final match of his two-game suspension on Tuesday for the red card he picked up in the win at Istanbulspor.

Sacha Boey will retain his place at right-back as the Frenchman continues to attract interest from around Europe - the 22-year-old could be turning out in his final away match for the club in Ankara.

Ankaragucu possible starting lineup:

Akkan; Malcit, Kizildag, Mujakic; Kitsiou, Djokanovic, Antalyali, Hanousek; Milson, Beridze, Sowe

Galatasaray possible starting lineup:

Muslera; Boey, Nelsson, Bardakci, Karatas; Oliveira, Torreira, Rashica, Mertens, Akturkoglu; Icardi

We say: Ankaragucu 0-3 Galatasaray

Ankaragucu have nothing tangible to play for at the end of this campaign, which - in theory - should make Galatasaray's mission of earning maximum points on Tuesday night significantly easier.

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