Fenerbahcevs.Istanbul

The Yellow Canaries saw their five-game winning streak in the Super Lig end, while they fell further behind in the title race after losing 1-0 to Besiktas last Saturday.

Match preview

Pressure is mounting on Jose Mourinho as Fenerbahce trail league leaders Galatasaray by six points in the Super Lig after the loss to Besiktas.

To make matters worse, the Yellow Canaries lost 2-0 to La Liga side Athletic Club in the Europa League on Thursday, resulting in unfriendly chants from the club's fans during the game.

While Mourinho has called for calm, citing the injury issues his team is experiencing, the game against Istanbul Basaksehir on Sunday has now become a must-win for Fenerbahce, as they risk falling further behind in the title race, while the fans will also become more irate.

Having dominated recent fixtures against Sunday's opposition with five straight wins across all competitions, the hosts will hope it's business as usual, especially as they have won 13 out of the 19 times they have hosted this fixture.

Prior to the home defeat against Athletic Club on Thursday, Fenerbahce were unbeaten in five home matches, while they have only dropped points once on home soil in the top flight this season, a 3-1 loss to Galatasaray.

Istanbul Basaksehir have found a new gear in recent weeks, winning their last three matches across all competitions after failing to win any of the previous 10.

Two of those victories have come in the Süper Lig, a 4-1 win over Goztepe and a 3-0 victory over Hatayspor in their most recent league game.

On Thursday, the Grey Owls recorded a 3-1 win over German side Heidenheim in the Conference League, and will now hope to win four matches in a row across all competitions for the first time since July.

However, it is important to note that all of these recent victories have come on home soil, putting Sunday's clash into some perspective given that the visitors have not won any of their last five away matches across all competitions, while losing four of those games.

In addition, the last time that the Grey Owls won this fixture was back in 2022, though that victory was at Fenerbahce's ground.

Fenerbahce Turkish Super Lig form:

W

W

W

W

W

L

Fenerbahce form (all competitions):

W

W

W

W

L

L

Istanbul Basaksehir Turkish Super Lig form:

D

L

D

L

W

W

Istanbul Basaksehir form (all competitions):

D

L

D

W

W

W

Team News

Fenerbahce will head into this clash without defender Alexander Djiku who is suspended after picking up an unhealthy number of yellow cards.

The Yellow Canaries will also remain without the injured duo of Mert Hakan Yandas and Jayden Oosterwolde, with the latter projected to miss the entire season.

Edin Dzeko has eight league goals to his name, one goal short of matching the league's leading scorer, a gap he will be hoping to bridge on Sunday.

Berkay Ozcan is the only absentee for Basaksehir, with the club deciding that he will no longer feature in the team.

Krzysztof Piatek, who is joint-top in the Super Lig scorer's chart with nine goals, will hope to bag more when he leads the line for the visitors.

Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:

Livakovic; Osay-Samuel, Becao, Akaydin, Muldur; Yuksek, Amrabat; Tadic, Szymanski, Saint-Maximin; En-Nesyri

Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:

Sengezer; Duarte, Ba, Opoku, Lima; Ergun; Davidson, Crespo, Kemen, Turuc; Piatek

We say: Fenerbahce 2-1 Istanbul Basaksehir

Written by

Joshua Cole

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