Preview: Galatasaray vs. Fatih Karagumruk - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors, meanwhile, have little pressure on their shoulders as they are firmly on course to secure a top half finish for the third successive season.

Match preview

Galatasaray, of course, are under far more stress than their forthcoming opponents, as they look to lift the Turkish Super Lig title for the first time since 2019.

No team has won Turkey's primary division as many times as Galatasaray's impressive tally of 22, with their fiercest rivals Fenerbahce three behind them in that regard.

Realistically, with Besiktas 10 points behind the league leaders having played one more match than them, it is a straight shoot-out between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce for the title this season. The two giants of Turkish football are still set to meet once more in an unscheduled match between now and the end of the campaign.

However, with a six-point gap ahead of their rivals, Cimbom know that they could afford to lose that clash - as well as draw a game elsewhere - and still end up as champions, having remarkably won 17 of their last 18 league matches.

As such, head coach Okan Buruk - who has already performed a near-miracle to guide Galatasaray to the brink of the title after they finished 13th under his predecessors last season - will be firmly expecting his players to do the business against Karagumruk on Sunday.

However, Karagumruk will almost certainly be no pushovers at the Nef Stadium, with the Black Red becoming an upper mid-table stable in Turkey in recent seasons.

Indeed, having ended their 36-year exile from Turkey's top flight by gaining promotion from the second tier in 2020, Karagumruk have defied the odds to secure successive eighth-placed finishes in the last two seasons. Under Andrea Pirlo's guidance, that is the exact position that they find themselves in ahead of facing Galatasaray on Sunday.

The former Italy midfielder has performed at least on a par with the club's expectations in only his second senior managerial role after his one-year stay with his former club Juventus did not work out as he would have hoped, with his compatriot Fabio Borini firing in 17 league goals and counting so far this season.

Pirlo and his players' main aim for the campaign may be holding off the threat of Konyaspor below them to ensure that they at least match their eighth-placed finishes from the previous two campaigns, although finishing as high as fifth is not completely out of the equation for them.

In terms of Sunday's ultimate test against the league leaders, though, keeping the scoreline as low as possible may be all that is expected of them given their forthcoming opponents' ominously impressive form in recent months.

Galatasaray Turkish Super Lig form:

W

W

L

W

W

W

Fatih Karagumruk Turkish Super Lig form:

D

D

W

L

W

W

Team News

Galatasaray will be without Baris Yilmaz after the winger reached the yellow card threshold after coming on as a substitute during his side's 4-1 victory away to Alanyaspor in midweek.

Buruk appears to be in the enviable position of having no injury issues at all restricting his selection at this present moment in time, so the 49-year-old may decide to name the same starting XI from Tuesday's victory.

That would mean forwards Nicolo Zaniolo and Bafetimbi Gomis will be reduced to making an impact from the bench once again, with the duo unlikely to be desperately needed to score a goal given Galatasaray's superiority over most of their opponents in recent times.

Karagumruk, on the other hand, appear to have several availability issues, with Emiliano Viviano and Otabek Shukurov both suspended after being booked during their side's 4-2 win against Umraniye in midweek.

Former Arsenal stopper Viviano's ban is of particular concern considering that he had replaced Batuhan Sen only 25 minutes into the encounter, with the visitors' first-choice goalkeeper unlikely to be fit enough to face Galatasaray due to a knock.

As such, third-choice goalkeeper Cem Kablan may be called upon for a potentially busy evening between the posts, while Emir Tintis, Efecan Mizrakci and Efe Tatli are all unlikely to feature due to injuries.

Galatasaray possible starting lineup:

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

Fatih Karagumruk possible starting lineup:

Kablan; Biraschi, Baniya, Dresevic, Mercan; Ricci, Bertolacci, Ozdoyev; Lobzhanidze, Diagne, Borini

We say: Galatasaray 4-1 Fatih Karagumruk

Should the visitors be forced into playing their inexperienced third-choice goalkeeper as expected, Galatasaray may be in store for an enjoyable evening against Pirlo's men on Sunday.

While the likes of Borini and Mbaye Diagne are more than capable of scoring against the league leaders, Buruk's men have been scoring goals for fun in recent matches themselves, and they should maintain their six-point lead at the top of the table at the very least by securing an 18th victory in 19 league games.

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