Fatih Karagumruk and Besiktas kick off their respective 2023 Turkish Super Lig campaigns with a meeting at Ataturk Olimpiyat on Monday evening.
The teams head into this one off the back of victories in their most recent outings and will be looking to pick up where they left off last time out.
Match preview
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Besiktas secured a first-leg advantage over Neftci Baku courtesy of a 3-1 triumph in the sides' Conference League qualifier on Thursday at Bakcell Arena.
Goals from Vincent Aboubakar, Jackson Muleka and Salih Ucan put Senol Gunes's men in the driving seat before Keelan Lebon pulled one back 11 minutes from time.
As a result, the Black Eagles have now come out on top in five straight matches and are unbeaten in 23 consecutive games across all competitions.
Next up is the challenge of an opposing outfit who are without a win in the last five editions of this fixture dating back to a 2-1 victory in 2021.
Ahead of the concluding leg of their European tie three days later, Monday's visitors now go in search of a morale-boosting result to help set the tone.
Fatih Karagumruk wrapped up their preparations for the new season with a narrow 1-0 win over Istanbulspor at Necmi Kadioglu Stadyumu on Sunday.
Alparslan Erdem's men opened the scoring through Levent Mercan in the 70th minute and that proved to be the all-important moment in a tight affair.
That brought an end to a two-game losing streak for Kara Kirmizi since a 3-0 win in last season's Super Lig finale against Kasimpasa back in June.
Having won each of their last two outings on home turf by a combined score of 5-0, Monday's hosts will be hopeful of another positive result in front of their fans to help kick off their season on a high.
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Team News
Turkish duo Kerem Kalafat and Tayyip Sanuc are both unavailable for Besiktas through long-term knee injuries and neither will play any part here.
Arthur Masuaku was absent from his side's last outing through suspension, but the 29-year-old is now eligible to make his return to action.
Vincent Aboubakar has found the back of the net five times in his last four matches for the away side, making him one to keep a close eye on.
Karagumruk's Efecan Mizrakci is a guaranteed absentee for this one as he remains sidelined with an ankle problem which he picked up back in December.
The home side will also be without the services of defender Emir Tintis who is still facing an extended spell out of action due to a knee injury.
Fatih Karagumruk possible starting lineup:
Dituro; Dresevic, Dursun, Baniya, Veseli; Feghouli, Mercan, Shukurov; Keles, Darri, Kaan
Besiktas possible starting lineup:
Gunok; Masuaku, Colley, Uysal, Rosier; Ucan, Fernandes, Hadziahmetovic; Bulut, Aboubakar, Muleka
We say: Fatih Karagumruk 1-2 Besiktas
With one eye on their European commitment three days later, Besiktas will be tempted to rest several key stars for this one. However, we are backing the away side to come out on top, albeit by only a narrow margin.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Adepoju Marvellous
