Two teams at contrasting ends of the Super Lig table go head to head at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium where Fenerbahce play host to Yeni Malatyaspor on Sunday.
The hosts will head into the game aiming to get one over the visitors after failing to pick up a win in both home and away fixtures between the sides last season.
Match preview
© Reuters
Fenerbahce failed to find their feet in the Turkish Super Lig as they could only salvage a 1-1 draw against nine-man Fatih Karagumruk at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium last Wednesday.
In a game where Zeki Murat Gole's men had the numerical advantage for over an hour, after Burak Bekaroglu and Caner Erkin both received their marching orders, Aleksandar Pesic put the hosts in front in the 31st minute before Mesut Ozil restored parity from 12 yards five minutes before the interval.
Fenerbahce have now failed to taste victory in any of their most recent four games across all competitions, claiming three draws and losing one since a 4-0 win over Caykur Rizespor on December 5.
The Yellow Canaries have managed just two wins from their last Super Lig games, losing four and claiming four draws, and this inconsistent run of results has seen them drop to fourth place in the league standings, level on 29 points with Adana Demirspor.
While Fenerbahce have been solid at the attacking end of the pitch, they have struggled to get going defensively as they have shipped 23 goals in the league so far, with 17 of those coming in their last 10 games.
© Reuters
Meanwhile, Yeni Malatyaspor continue to search for that morale-boosting win as they threw away a two-goal lead before settling for a 2-2 draw with Kayserispor last time out.
In an end-to-end contest at the New Malatya Stadium, Mounir Chouiar and Adem Buyuk scored to hand the hosts a two-goal lead heading into the interval, but Mario Gavranovic pulled one back for the visitors in the 56th minute before Mustafa Pektemek restored parity in injury time.
Marius Sumudica's men have now failed to pick up a win in any of their most recent eight Super Lig games, managing three draws and losing five since claiming a 2-1 win over Altay back in October.
In that time, however, Yeni Malatyaspor sealed their place in the fifth round of the Turkiye Kupasi courtesy of an impressive 3-1 victory over lower-tier Akhisarspor on December 2.
Their lack of defensive sturdiness has been a major reason behind their woeful performances this season as they boast the league's second-worst defensive record with 32 goals conceded and have managed just three clean sheets to date.
With 15 points from 18 games, Yeni Malatyaspor are currently 18th in the Super Lig standings, three points above rock-bottom Kasimpasa and three adrift of Altay just outside the relegation places.
- W
- D
- W
- L
- D
- D
- D
- W
- D
- L
- D
- D
- L
- D
- D
- L
- L
- D
- D
- W
- D
- L
- L
- D
Team News
© Reuters
First-choice goalkeeper Altay Bayindir continues his spell on the sidelines through a shoulder injury, meaning Berke Ozer will continue to handle business between the sticks for Fenerbahce.
Dutch midfielder Ferdi Kadioglu is also out of contention and set to miss his third straight game after coming off with a muscle problem against Gaziantep on December 13.
Marcel Tisserand will also play no part in Sunday's game as the 28-year-old defender is currently recuperating from an illness, meaning Turkish full-back Nazim Sangare could come in for his seventh starting appearance of the season.
Yeni Malatyaspor, on the other hand, head into the game with no concerns on the injury front, meaning Sumudica has a full house at his disposal for Sunday's game.
After sitting out five consecutive games, Mustafa Eskihellac returned to the fold against Kayserispor last time out, when he featured for the full 90 minutes and we expect the 24-year-old to handle business at centre of the park for Yeni Malatyaspor once again.
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Ozer; Novak, Kim, Aziz; Szalai, Zajc, Crespo, Osayi-Samuel; Ozil, Rossi; Berisha
Yeni Malatyaspor possible starting lineup:
Ozbir; Ciftpinar, Kaya, Wallace; Mallan, Aabid, N'Dong, Eskihellac; Buyuk, Chouiar, Tetteh
We say: Fenerbahce 2-0 Yeni Malatyaspor
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Fenerbahce win with a probability of 73.59%. A draw had a probability of 16.7% and a win for Yeni Malatyaspor had a probability of 9.67%.
The most likely scoreline for a Fenerbahce win was 2-0 with a probability of 13.05%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (11.27%) and 3-0 (10.08%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (7.97%), while for a Yeni Malatyaspor win it was 0-1 (3.44%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 13.1% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted a 2-0 win for Fenerbahce in this match.
