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

Gala relinquished top spot when Fenerbahce won their game in hand against local rivals Istanbul Basaksehir on Thursday, so the hosts cannot afford any slip-ups, even if there are obvious distractions on the horizon.

Match preview

With Galatasaray still unbeaten after 13 games in all competitions this season, they will hope to make it 14 with a routine win before facing Manchester United on Tuesday.

Given Man United's recent form, Gala may fancy their chances, but they will have to improve on the performance which saw them fortunately salvage a point on matchday one versus Copenhagen.

A red card for the Danes allowed Galatasaray back into the contest at 2-0 down, and goals from Sacha Boey and Tete in the final four minutes saw them snatch a point in Istanbul.

Since their opening European encounter, Okan Buruk's side have faced two short away trips in the league, passing them both narrowly, beating Basaksehir and Istanbulspor, both by one-goal margins.

Scenes from their win over Istanbulspor went viral when Mauro Icardi incredibly missed a clear open goal after Kerem Akturkoglu cheekily passed his penalty sideways for the Argentine to tap in.

Just five minutes later though, Icardi spared his own blushes, as the same linkup resulted in Gala's only goal as they edged past the relegation candidates by one goal to nil.

That strike was Icardi's 10th of the season already, while Akturkoglu has also contributed to 10 goals himself, in what has been a productive start to the campaign for both.

With the best defence so far and one of the most potent attacks, Gala will be tough to beat again this season as they look to retain their title.

However, an opening day draw at Kayserispor means they are currently second, as Fener lie two points above them after winning their opening six.

After an inconsistent start, Ankaragucu now face one of the most daunting tasks in Turkish football.

The visitors have only won once in their opening six Super Lig matches this season, but they still find themselves in mid-table.

Only Fenerbahce have got the better of Tolunay Kafkas's men since an opening day defeat to Kasimpasa though, suggesting it may not be a walkover here.

However, a 3-1 win over Sivasspor after going behind early on has been the only real high point of a quite underwhelming start, epitomised perfectly by an uneventful 1-1 draw with Konyaspor last weekend - their third draw of the same scoreline already.

Galatasaray Turkish Super Lig form:

D

W

W

W

W

W

Galatasaray form (all competitions):

W

W

W

D

W

W

Ankaragucu Turkish Super Lig form:

L

D

D

L

W

D

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Team News

Buruk may well ring the changes here with the Man United game coming up in midweek.

Strength in wide areas may allow the Galatasaray manager to rest Akturkoglu, Hakim Ziyech and Dries Mertens.

Tete, Wilfried Zaha and Baris Alper Yilmaz are all contention to start should Buruk shuffle the pack a bit.

The manager has been reluctant to rest Icardi though, with the former Inter and Paris Saint-Germain striker starting every game since their Champions League third qualifying round success over Olimpija Ljubljana.

Young left-back Kazimcan Karatas is the only player currently absent for the champions, as a knee injury is set to keep him out until November.

Ankaragucu will remain without both Mert Cetin (knee) and Rostov loanee Ali Sowe (metatarsal) for a few months.

Injuries saw Kafkas name Kyrgyz teenager Sirozhiddin Astanakulov on the bench last week, and it would be a dream for the striker to make his debut in any capacity here.

Former Galatasaray man Garry Rodrigues is slightly more used to these surroundings though, and should start on the left-hand side of the Ankaragucu attack against his former club.

Riad Bajic netted his first goal since joining from relegated Giresunspor in the draw with Konyaspor, and the Bosnian should line up again alongside fellow compatriots Andrej Djokanovic and Nihad Mujakic.

Galatasaray possible starting lineup:

Muslera; Boey, Nelsson, Bardakci, Angelino; Demirbay, Torreira, Sergio Oliveira; Tete, Icardi, B A Yilmaz

Ankaragucu possible starting lineup:

Gungordu; Kitsiou, Hanousek, Mujakic, Radakovic; Djokanovic, Turkmen, Bekiroglu; Morutan, Bajic, Garry Rodrigues

We say: Galatasaray 2-0 Ankaragucu

With the biggest game of the season coming up on Tuesday, Galatasaray may be forgiven for taking their foot slightly off the pedal here, but they must ensure they still get the job done.

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