Looking to move into the top four places, Galatasaray play hosts to Konyaspor in round nine of the Turkish Super Lig at the Turk Telekom Arena on Sunday.
The hosts head into the game seeking a third win on the bounce, while the visitors will look to end their run of four consecutive draws.
Match preview
© Reuters
A proper title challenge, to say the least, was expected of a Galatasaray side who lost the 2020-21 league title to Besiktas on goal difference as they were viewed as firm favourites to go all the way.
In a surprising turn of events, the Lions found themselves scrambling for points in the mid-tables after six rounds of matches as they managed eight points from 18 available.
However, Fatih Terim has steered an impressive turnaround in recent weeks, starting with an impressive win against Goztepe on September 26, when second-half strikes from Halil Dervisoglu and Olimpiu Morutan cancelled out Cherif Ndiaye's 43rd minute opener and forced a comeback.
Galatasaray continued their surge to the upper echelons of the Super Lig table last time out as they came from behind once again to snatch a thrilling 3-2 victory over Caykur Rizespor at the Yeni Rize Sehir Stadi.
Heading into the break one goal down for the second game running, the 22-time champions faced an uphill task against a determined Rizespor side, but Mostafa Mohamed restored parity in the 75th minute before Morutan struck a dramatic winner in the 11th minute of injury time to hand the visitors a 3-2 victory.
While it was a sixth defeat on the bounce for the hosts, the result saw the 2018-19 champions rise to eighth place on the log, level on 14 points with three other sides, including sixth-place Konyaspor.
This slow start to the season has been owing to their struggles at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have shipped 12 goals already with only Altay and rock-bottom Caykur Rizespor conceding more.
Galatasaray head into Sunday's game off the back of a 3-3 draw against second-tier side Istanbulspor when the sides squared off in a friendly tie during the international break at the Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex Nef Stadium.
© Reuters
Konyaspor, on the other hand, failed to return to winning ways yet again when they played out a 1-1 draw with Alanyaspor last time on home turf.
In a cagey affair at the Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium, Bulent Korkmaz's side appeared headed for all three points when Fatih Aksoy struck four minutes after the interval, but Boavista loanee Chidozie Awaziem scored an own goal with three minutes remaining in the game to force a share of the spoils.
This was a fourth consecutive draw for Ilhan Palut's men, who were also involved in a share of the spoils with Giresunspor, Trabzonspor and Kasimpasa since their last win on September 11, when they edged out Altay 3-1 on home turf.
Sunday's visitors remain one of just two sides yet to suffer defeat this season and this has been owing to their sturdiness at the defensive end of the pitch, where they boast the third-best record with eight goals conceded.
While the Anadolu Kartali will look to keep this decent run going, they face the stern test of taking on a rejuvenated opposing side, who have lost just once in the last 20 meetings between the sides, claiming 13 wins and six draws in that time.
- D
- D
- L
- L
- W
- W
- L
- L
- W
- D
- W
- D
- D
- W
- D
- D
- D
- D
- L
- W
- D
- D
- D
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Galatasaray will take to the pitch without the services of Omar Elabdellaoui and Arda Turan, who are currently recuperating from ankle and knee injuries respectively.
While the former Barcelona and Atletico Madrid forward edges closer to full fitness following a two-month spell on the sidelines, Sunday's game might come too soon for a return, meaning we could see Olimpiu Morutan start on the right wing once again.
Turkish midfielder Berkan Kutlu is also ruled out of this weekend's encounter as he serves his suspension after receiving his marching orders against Caykur Rizespor last time out.
Konyaspor, on the other hand, will be unable to call upon the services of 29-year-old forward Paul-Jose Mpoku, who picked up a muscle problem in the game against Alanyaspor two weeks ago.
Having named an unchanged starting lineup in each of the last two games, we expect Palut to name a similar side for the trip to Galatasaray this Saturday.
The defensive unit of Guilherme Haubert Sitya, Abdulkerim Bardakci, Ahmet Yilmaz Calik and Nejc Skubic have started each of Konyaspor's eight games this season and we expect to see them team up once again in front of skipper Ibrahim Sehic between the sticks.
Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Muslera; Van Aanholt, Nelsson, Luyindama, Yedlin; Kutlu, Cicaldau, Morutan; Morutan, Dervisoglu, Akturkogly
Konyaspor possible starting lineup:
Sehic; Skubic, Calik, Bardakci, Guilherme; Dikmen, Hadziahmetovic, Cekici; Bytyqi, Hassan, Gurler
We say: Galatasaray 2-1 Konyaspor
Galatasaray have done well to turn their season around as they appear to have hit their stride over the last few weeks. While we expect a defensively solid Konyaspor side to put up a fight on Sunday, we are tipping the record Super Lig champions to continue their dominance in this fixture and come away with all three points.
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 Galatasaray win with a probability of 62.03%. A draw had a probability of 21.2% and a win for Konyaspor had a probability of 16.79%.
The most likely scoreline for a Galatasaray win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.96%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.82%) and 2-1 (9.92%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.05%), while for a Konyaspor win it was 0-1 (5.09%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 11% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Galatasaray in this match.
