Preview: Fenerbahce vs. Galatasaray – Prediction, team news, lineups

Fenerbahce And Galatasaray will meet on Saturday at the Ülker Fenerbahçe Sükrü Saracoglu Stadium for the first part of the season in the eagerly awaited Turkish Süper Lig derby.

It will be the 401st meeting between the two teams, with the hosts winning 149 times, the visitors 128 times and both teams having to settle for a draw 55 times.

Game Preview

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Fenerbahce goes into the first intercontinental derby of the season in second place with 13 points, two points behind their arch-rivals and next opponent Galatasaray after five games.

The Yellow Canaries fell short of their rivals in a record-breaking and hard-fought title race last season, finishing three points behind them despite collecting 99 points during the season and losing just once.

What followed was Ismail Kartal leaves the club at the end of his contract and the club opts for an experienced and experienced manager, Jose Mourinhoto prevent Gala from winning its third consecutive Süper Lig title.

Fenerbahce have picked up where they left off last season, picking up four wins and a draw in their first five games, but the team knows they need a near-perfect season performance to reach their end-of-season goal.

Saturday will be an opportunity for the Yellow Canaries to leapfrog their rivals and inflict their first defeat of the season, but they have failed to secure a home win against the Lions in their last two attempts.

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Meanwhile, Galatasaray will be hoping to continue their winning streak and make an impressive start to another season of defending their title.

Okan BurukThe team, which won the Süper Lig last season by becoming the first Turkish team ever to collect 100 points, won all five of its games to remain at the top of the table.

The Lions started slowly, winning 2-1 in their first two games, but have since picked up the pace, scoring 13 goals and conceding just two in their last three games, winning 5-1, 5-0 and 3-1 respectively.

No team has scored more goals in the Süper Lig than Gala (17), four more than Fenerbahce, which has the second-best attack in the league.

Buruk will once again be able to count on his strong attack as the Lions look to continue their run of ten away wins in the Süper Lig.

Fenerbahce Turkish Super Lig form:

Fenerbahce form (all competitions):

Galatasaray Turkish Super Lig form:

Galatasaray form (all competitions):

Team News

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Fenerbahce will continue to have to do without the services of the Nigerian international Bright Osayi-Samuelwho has been unable to play the last three matches due to a foot injury sustained against Göztepe on August 17.

Edin Dzeko has been in impressive form for the Yellow Canaries, scoring four league goals so far. The Bosnian will be keen to add to his tally after failing to score for the first time in the Süper Lig in his last game.

Dusan Tadic has scored three goals in his last two games and the Serbian will be hoping to maintain his good form in this high-stakes derby.

Galatasaray striker Mauro Icardi has missed the last two games due to injury and is unlikely to play in this match either.

Loan player from Napoli Victor Osimhenwho is expected to return to the starting line-up after missing the last game due to registration issues, will look to score his first goal for Galatasaray.

Turkish winger Baris Yilmaz has scored a goal in each of the last four league matches, making him joint-top scorer in the Süper Lig. He is expected to start on Saturday and hopes to continue his scoring streak.

Possible starting eleven for Fenerbahce:
Livakovic; Muldur, Becao, Soyuncu, Oosterwolde; Yuksek, Fred; Saint Maximin, Szymanski, Tadic; Dzeko

Possible starting eleven for Galatasaray:
Muslera; Ayhan, Sanchez, Bardakci, Kutlu; Torreira, Sara; Yilmaz, Mertens, Akgun; Osimhen

We think: Fenerbahce 2-2 Galatasaray

Both teams are in top form going into this duel and have scored frequently while remaining compact in defence.

Given that and their recent encounters where there has been little between the two teams, we expect this game to end in a high-scoring draw.

Click here to see a data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this match.

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