Alanyaspor will be Eyupspor's first-ever Turkish Super Lig opponents when both sides meet in gameweek one's match at the Bahcesehir Okullari Stadium on Sunday.
The hosts returned to the competition's top half last term after a significant dip in the 2022-23 campaign, and they hope for a strong start against a side tasting the league for the first time.
Match preview
© Imago
You would forgive fans of Alanyaspor for any discontent shown during and at the end of the 2022-23 season.
After four consecutive years of ending in the top half — ninth, fifth, seventh and fifth — fans in Alanya had to digest the club's 15th-place finish two years back, where they escaped relegation by a point.
Last season saw them return to the Super Lig's top half, and they hope to build on the ascent and avoid bad habits from two campaigns ago.
While they ended the previous term securing five home points from an available nine, the team's wider form in front of their supporters ranked 12th among the division's 20 sides.
Alanyaspor fared better on their travels, underscored by lying seventh in the away table, but Fatih Tekke seeks to improve results in Alanya this term.
Tekke's men get their chance at showing things would be different on home soil this season when they take on new boys Eyupspor on Sunday.
This is all new to the Istanbul outfit, who secured promotion to the big time at the backend of last season under Turkish football icon Arda Turan.
The first-time Super Lig participants aim to start positively on Sunday, keen to show they have what it takes to compete at this level against a side that had mixed home results last season.
While they are playing at a higher level, scoring 40 goals on their travels last season — 12 more than the next prolific away side — should fill Turan's men with confidence that they can cause an upset on their Super Lig debut.
However, it remains to be seen how the decision to refrain from pre-season matches helps or hinders the promoted side on their top-flight bow as the Istanbul-based side seek to record a statement result on Sunday.
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Team News
Tekke could start Gaius Makouta and Serdar Dursun on Sunday, with the pair making their Super Lig debuts against the promoted side.
The hosts have reported no fresh injury concerns ahead of this weekend, seeing them head into the round one fixture with a healthy side.
The same applies to the league's new boys, giving Turan a fully fit squad to attack Eyupspor's first top-flight match.
Gianni Bruno (17 goals) and Admed Kutucu (14) were the away club's leading goalscorers in last year's second-tier league triumph and the forwards aim to start strongly in the big time.
Alanyaspor possible starting lineup:
Taskiran; Hadergjonaj, Lima, Bayir, Ozdemir; Makouta, Richard; Karaca, Janvier, Augusto; Dursun
Eyupspor possible starting lineup:
Ozer; Bingol, Ozer, Claro, Meras; Akbaba, Tokoz, Midtsjo; Kutucu, Bruno, Thiam
We say: Alanyaspor 1-1 Eyupspor
Pre-season is typically a period to build match sharpness, but Alanyaspor played one friendly game while Eyupspor partook in none. That means supporters may be unsure of what to expect on Sunday, and that uncertainty means we err on the side of caution to predict both sides accepting a point in gameweek one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
