Fenerbahce are undoubted favourites to get the better of managerless Hatayspor in Sunday's Super Lig gameweek 18 clash at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.
Jose Mourinho's men have won four consecutive league home games and are searching for a fifth victory on the trot in front of their fans against their second-bottom opponents.
Match preview
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Despite finding some form heading into December, last year ended disappointingly for Mourinho's side, who dropped points in two of their concluding three Super Lig games.
The Istanbul outfit were beaten by rivals Besiktas (1-0) at the start of last month and slipped up in their final match at Eyupspor (1-1), thus falling eight points adrift of table-topping Galatasaray.
While they hold a six-point advantage over Samsunspor in third, the Istanbul outfit could cut Gala's lead atop the standings if the defending league champions fail to win a fourth league fixture on the trot.
Although the Yellow Canaries ended the previous year with one win in three matches, the home support should be optimistic about returning to winning ways, having claimed four straight victories at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.
Fenerbahce's only dropped points at their stomping ground in seven matches came against league-leading Galatasaray in September, highlighting the Yellow-Navy Blues' dominance in front of their fans.
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While Sari Kanaryalar are favourites to claim a seventh win in eight home games, the second-placed outfit will be wary of coming unstuck against a side without a permanent head coach after Riza Calimbay's December departure.
Yilmaz Bal and Gokhan Alas will take charge of the side for this weekend's trip to Istanbul, aiming to catch Mourinho's troops out with the element of surprise.
The Star of the South are winless in five top-flight games since their 3-1 triumph over Gaziantep on November 9, their sole success following 10 fixtures without maximum points this term.
Without three points for two months, the division's second-bottom club have accrued nine points from 16 matches, leaving them with the fewest wins and 10 points from safety.
Even the most optimistic Hatayspor fan will doubt the club's survival prospects, although the campaign not being at its halfway point offers a glimmer of hope if Guneyin Yildizi strike gold with their next appointment.
Notwithstanding, the club's next boss will have to work out how to get the league's second-lowest scorers (14 goals) to flourish in the attacking third and find ways for the fourth-worst defence (27 goals conceded) to keep opponents out.
Team News
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While Mert Hakan Yandas's participation is uncertain, Mourinho is not anticipated to have Dominik Livakovic and Oguz Aydin (muscle complaints) available until mid-January; however, Jayden Oosterwolde and Rodrigo Becao are long-term absentees with severe knee injuries.
Although Edin Dzeko leads the way for goals (nine), teammates Dusan Tadic (seven) and Youssef En-Nesyri have each netted two game-clinching strikes, two behind league-leading Eyupspor man Mame Thiam, highlighting their penchant for taking responsibility.
Bal and Alas have selection headaches for the away side this weekend, with Cengiz Demir, Gorkem Saglam, Joelson Fernandes, Burak Yilmaz and Francisco Calvo missing through suspension, and Jonathan Okoronkwo absent due to injury.
With Saglam and Fernandes, scorers of two goals apiece, missing, only Vincent Aboubakar and Carlos Strandberg (three apiece) have netted more than twice for one of the competition's least prolific clubs, who are shorn of possible game-changers this weekend.
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Egribayat; Osayi-Samuel, Soyuncu, Djiku, Kostic; Amrabat, Fred; Kahveci, Tadic, Saint-Maximin; En-Nesyri
Hatayspor possible starting lineup:
Kardesler; Corekci, Parmak, Massanga, Sertel; Djack, Temel; Rivas, Pedro, Boutobba; Aboubakar
We say: Fenerbahce 3-0 Hatayspor
Hatayspor are winless in away Super Lig games since January 2024, and that miserable run should continue against one of the strongest home sides on Sunday.
Fenerbahce have won six of seven home fixtures under Mourinho, with the Portuguese boss inheriting a side on a six-match winning sequence on home soil, underscoring why the Istanbul giants should overpower Sunday's second-bottom visitors.
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