Preview: Fenerbahce vs. Kasimpasa - prediction, team news, lineups

The hosts Fenerbahce are attempting to chase down the rapidly accelerating runaway leaders Galatasaray at the summit of the Turkish Super Lig table, while Kasimpasa are looking to extend the gap between themselves and the bottom three on Sunday, difficult though it will be against the title-chasing Istanbulites.

Match preview

Jorge Jesus's debut season in charge is about par for the course so far, as the team from Istanbul are set to repeat their second-placed finish from last season under Ismail Kartal.

However, Fenerbahce have given themselves a decent chance of catching Galatasaray and winning their first league title since 2013-14.

Jesus's side have been in sparkling form recently, winning four of their last six league matches and suffering only four losses all season.

Fenerbahce's last match was a 2-1 success away at Umraniyespor - Tomislav Glumac's stoppage-time own goal gave the Yellow Canaries the points after ex-Chelsea forward Michy Batshuayi's opener was cancelled out midway through the second half.

The Yellow Canaries are second in the Turkish Super Lig but there are four points separating them from both their other Istanbul natives.

Fenerbahce will be hoping to simultaneously close the gap on Galatasaray to one point and extend the margin to Istanbul Basaksehir in third to seven points with a win on Sunday.

Fenerbahce have also scored the most goals in the division with 46 - nine more than the team they are trying to catch - so they will be confident of capitalising on any slip-up by Galatasaray on Saturday with a victory over their mid-table visitors.

Enner Valencia is the Super Lig's top scorer with 15 goals and the Ecuadorian is as pivotal for his club as he was for his national team during the World Cup.

The ex-West Ham United forward's goals have spearheaded Fenerbahce's charge this season and he will be hoping to increase his tally on Sunday afternoon.

Newly-appointed Selcuk Inan's Kasimpasa are 13th but are only one point clear of Sivasspor in the last relegation spot.

The team won the new manager's first game 4-1 at home to Alanyaspor on January 4 to give them hope of a comfortable season.

However, three winless games in a row means that they are nervously looking over their shoulder ahead of the trip to Istanbul, and they could be in the relegation zone on Sunday night, should the weekend's results not go their way.

The fact that ex-Huddersfield Town full-back Florent Hadergjonaj is their leading scorer with four goals tells you where their main problem lies, so Kasimpasa will be hoping that forwards Stephane Bahoken and Mamadou Fall improve their tallies of four and two goals respectively against Fenerbache.

In order for them to pull away from danger, Kasimpasa will also need to improve a defensive tally of 34 goals conceded which is the joint-third worst in the Super Lig on Sunday.

Fenerbahce Turkish Super Lig form:

L

W

W

L

W

W

Kasimpasa Turkish Super Lig form:

L

L

W

L

D

L

Team News

Fenerbahce will be missing Joshua King for the visit of Kasimpasa as the ex-Watford forward is struggling with a muscle injury, while King's fellow forward Joao Pedro is also out with a knee edema.

Fenerbahce are also missing Bright Osayi-Samuel and Nazim Sangare, who are struggling with an unspecified knock and fitness issues respectively.

Michy Batshuayi and Enner Valencia are in line to start together once again due to the Yellow Canaries' issues up front, and they will be hoping to keep their fine partnership going against Kasimpasa.

Kasimpasa will be without suspended key defender Jeffrey Bruma for the game against the title-chasers, while wing-back Mortadha Ben Ounas is also banned for the trip to Istanbul.

Ryan Donk and Ahmet Engin are set to deputise for these two players at left centre-back and left wing-back respectively.

Kasimpasa are also without the suspended striker Fode Koita on Sunday, so Fall and Bahoken will be paired together in Inan's 3-5-2 system.

Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:

Bayinder; Akaydin, Szalai, Peres; Alloski, Yuksek, Lincoln, Kadioglu; Zajc; Batshuayi, Valencia

Kasimpasa possible starting lineup:

Canpolat; Ozcan, Ciftpinar, Donk; Tirpan, Hajradinovic, Eysseric, Kara, Engin; Fall, Bahoken

We say: Fenerbahce 3-0 Kasimpasa

Batshuayi and Valencia will surely be too much for fading Kasimpasa and a routine win is a likely outcome for Jorge Jesus's high-flying Fenerbahce.

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