The Tupras Stadyumu braces for a clash of contrasting narratives on Saturday as Besiktas, riding a crest of confidence, welcome Fatih Karagumruk, desperate to escape the relegation shadows.
Both teams are coming into this match off positive results and will look to build on that in this clash.
Match preview
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Besiktas bounced back from their embarrassing defeat to Kasimpasa with a confidence-boosting 4-0 victory over Caykur Rizespor last time out.
Fernando Santos's men scored twice in each half, with Milot Rashica and Semih Kilicsoy finding the net in the first half before Kilicsoy completed his brace in the second half and Cenk Tosun added a fourth.
As a result, the Black Eagles have climbed to fourth in the Turkish Super Lig table with 32 points, four points behind third-placed Trabzonspor and three points ahead of fifth-placed Adana Demirspor.
Awaiting them next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who are winless in the last six editions of this fixture stretching back to 2021.
However, Santos's side are currently on a run of four home defeats in all competitions leading up to Saturday's affair, conceding 14 goals while scoring just three times in those games, last winning on home turf in November against Istanbul Basaksehir.
Already out of Europe this season, the Black Eagles must halt their poor run of results at home to improve their chances of returning to the continent next season.
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Karagumruk ended their losing streak with a convincing 4-1 home victory over Kayserispor last time out.
The Black Red had a three-goal advantage within the first 41 minutes through a Marcus Rohden hat-trick before Kevin Lasagna added a fourth in the second half after Aylton Boa Morte had reduced the deficit just before half time.
Consequently, Shota Arveladze's men have climbed out of the relegation zone and now sit 15th in the Turkish Super Lig table, two points away from the drop zone.
Having lost their last four matches on the road, the visitors will be keen to end their away hoodoo, which has seen them win just once on their trips in this campaign, their first away game of the season against Basaksehir.
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Team News
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Necip Uysal and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are ruled out through head and thigh injuries respectively, and neither will play any part for Besiktas in this one.
The home side will also be without the services of 22-year-old midfielder Emrecan Uzunhan, who remains sidelined with an ACL injury.
Daniel Amartey, Omar Colley, Arthur Masuaku and Vincent Aboubakar are all unavailable after joining up with their national teams for the AFCON.
Karagumruk's Ryan Mendes and Sofiane Feghouli are also currently on international duty with Cape Verde and Algeria respectively, ahead of the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations and will not play any part in this one.
The away side will also be without the services of Stefano Sturaro for a fifth game on the bounce as he continues to nurse a muscle problem.
Arveladze is likely to put out the same starting lineup from the win over Kayserispor, with Lasagna leading the line once again.
Besiktas possible starting lineup:
Gunok; Bulut, Sanuc, Zaynutdinov, Meras; Tiknaz; Hadziahmetovic, Fernandes, Kilicsoy, Rashica; Tosun
Fatih Karagumruk possible starting lineup:
Bilgin; Mercan, Dresevic, Dursun, Veseli; Rohden, Paoletti, Eysseric; Yalcin, Keles, Lasagna
We say: Besiktas 2-0 Fatih Karagumruk
Besiktas will be keen to end their poor run of results at home and an opponent like Karagumruk presents the perfect opportunity to do that.
The visitors will also come into this with a lot of confidence after their win last time out and a knowledge of the hosts' poor home form.
However, we think the Black Eagles will have too much for the Black Red to handle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
