Preview: Fenerbahce vs. Istanbul Basaksehir - prediction, team news, lineups

Both sides currently sit a point off league leaders Adana Demirspor with a game in hand each, after a quarter of the season played.

Match preview

Fenerbahce's free-flowing, attacking football is the reason why they find themselves above their upcoming opponents in the table on goal difference at the moment in second place.

Twenty-eight goals scored is seven higher than the next best in the division, and more than double Basaksehir's current tally.

With a serial winner in charge, Jorge Jesus has guided Fener to just one defeat in 17 matches, as he looks to add the Super Lig crown to his list of accolades which include three Portuguese titles at Benfica plus one Brazilian title and a Copa Libertadores win with Flamengo.

Their superb form since September has seen them fail to win only twice, away to Besiktas and Rennes, both of which were notably excellent draws.

It is not hard to see why they are so in-form and prolific in front of goal when you look at the attacking options at their disposal though.

Michy Batshuayi is still a regular Belgian international, Enner Valencia has proven himself in this division (and currently tops the scoring charts with 10 goals), Diego Rossi was prolific in four years with LAFC in MLS and Joshua King notched over 50 Premier League goals in seven years in England.

In addition to this, they pulled off a major coup to bring Joao Pedro to the club over the summer, as the Brazilian-born Italian international joined after scoring 47 Serie A goals in the last three seasons with Cagliari.

Basaksehir may not have the fanatical supporter base of the 'Big Three' in Istanbul, or the history, but they are rightly well fancied for the title again this season, after their maiden crown in 2020.

A mini wobble which saw them fail to beat Latvian minnows RFS away in Riga before losing at home to Sivasspor two weeks ago was put right after Emre Belozoglu's side recorded back-to-back home victories without conceding.

A 3-0 win over RFS in the reverse fixture in the Europa Conference League was followed up by a comfortable 2-0 success over local rivals Istanbulspor on Sunday.

However, they needed two goals from centre-back Youssouf Ndayishimiye to seal that league win last week, which does highlight their attacking deficiencies and inferiority compared to Fener's attack.

They have conceded just three goals in nine Super Lig games, keeping seven clean sheets in doing so, and they have not conceded at all in their UECL group yet after four matches, but Basaksehir have scored just 13 league goals.

If they can continue to keep clean sheets at such an incredible rate they will be fine, but if they want to sustain a healthy title challenge, they must be more clinical individually, as Ndayishimiye was their 11th different scorer of the season, meaning nobody is taking on the mantle to score goals at a consistent rate.

Fenerbahce Turkish Super Lig form:

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Fenerbahce form (all competitions):

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Istanbul Basaksehir Turkish Super Lig form:

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Istanbul Basaksehir form (all competitions):

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Team News

Some excellent news for Jesus is that midfield maestro Miha Zajc should return following a muscle injury, as Fenerbahce could welcome back one of the best midfielders in the division.

King could also return in attack after a similar injury to Zajc, but the Norwegian will struggle to get into the side over Batshuayi and Valencia at the moment, so a start in Europe against Rennes on Thursday looks more fathomable.

Willian Arao (thigh) and Mert Hakan Yandas (knee) will both remain out until at least November, while Nazim Sangare is still recovering from a serious cruciate ligament injury.

Emre Mor picked up an ankle problem last week, and the prognosis is still unknown regarding the severity of the injury.

Both Ahmed Touba and Mounir Chouiar were late absentees for Basaksehir's tie with Istanbulspor last week, while Mesut Ozil remains out with a back problem.

Sener Ozbayrakli is closing in on a return from injury, but will have to settle for a place on the bench at the moment given the competition at right-back between Omer Ali Sahiner and Junior Caicara.

Emre faces a dilemma of having two vitally important matches in a matter of days so it will be tough to justify rotating his squad for this one, but a point against Fiorentina on Thursday will guarantee top spot in their UECL group, so Emre may have one eye on that game.

Caicara, Danijel Aleksic and Stefano Okaka have all been utilized mainly in Europe, so will more than likely be on the bench for the short trip across Istanbul before starting in Florence next week.

Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:

Bayindir; Aziz, Gustavo Henrique, Szalai; Osayi-Samuel, Kahveci, Crespo, Lincoln, Kadioglu; Valencia, Batshuayi

Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:

Babacan; Sahiner, Leo Duarte, Ndayishimiyie, Lima; Ozcan, Tekdemir, Biglia; Turuc, Traore, Gurler

We say: Fenerbahce 0-0 Istanbul Basaksehir

Both teams have been really tough to beat this season, and despite Fenerbahce's superb attack, Basaksehir's incredible defensive record shows they are capable of keeping most teams at bay.

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