Besiktas will be looking to make it back-to-back victories in the Turkish Super Lig when they continue their campaign with a clash against Istanbul Basaksehir on Friday night.
The visitors are currently third in the table with 17 points to show from their opening eight matches, while Basaksehir occupy 15th, having picked up just six points from their first eight games of 2021-22.
Match preview
Basaksehir, who finished 12th in the Super Lig last season, have a record of two wins and six defeats from their eight league matches this term, which has left them in 15th position in the table on six points.
The Orange-Navy Blues have won their last two home league matches in impressive fashion, dispatching Fenerbahce courtesy of a two-goal success on September 19 before beating Rizespor 3-0 one week later.
Now managed by Turkey legend Emre Belozoglu, the home side will enter this match off the back of a 3-1 defeat at Fatih Karagumruk in their last league contest at the start of the month.
Basaksehir's overall record against Besiktas is actually quite strong, winning eight and drawing 12 of their previous 29 matches against the Black and Whites.
That said, they have lost their last three matches against Besiktas in all competitions, including the two league matches between the teams last term, which were both five-goal thrillers.
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Besiktas, meanwhile, will enter the contest off the back of a 2-1 win over Sivasspor before the international break; Guven Yalcin scored twice for Sergen Yalcin's side, who are currently third in the Super Lig table.
Indeed, a record of five wins, two draws and one defeat from eight matches has seen them collect 17 points, which has left them one point behind second-placed Trabzonspor and two points from leaders Fenerbahce.
Besiktas are also competing in the group stage of the Champions League this season, but they have made a difficult start in Group C, losing to both Borussia Dortmund and Ajax.
While impressing in the European Cup is seen as vitally important, the league remains the priority for the Istanbul giants, who won the Super Lig for the 16th time in their history last season.
There was only actually two points between the top three - Besiktas, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce - in the Super Lig last term, and the early indications are that there will be another fascinating battle for the title.
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Team News
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Basaksehir will be without the services of Tolga Cigerci, Sener Ozbayrakli, Omer Ali Sahiner and Ahmed Kutucu for Friday's contest against Besiktas through injury.
Head coach Kocaman is expected to make changes to the side that started the 3-1 defeat to Fatih before the international break, with Nacer Chadli likely to earn a spot in an advanced area.
Danijel Aleksic is also in contention to feature in the starting XI, but experienced forward Stefano Okaka, who has struck four league goals this term, will again lead the line for the home side.
As for Besiktas, a lengthy injury list includes Atiba Hutchinson, Miralem Pjanic, Rachid Ghezzal, Cyle Larin, Mehmet Topal and Georges-Kevin Nkoudou, while Francisco Montero will miss out with coronavirus.
The visitors have an important Champions League game against Sporting Lisbon next week, but head coach Yalcin will still select a strong side for Friday's league contest.
Michy Batshuayi and Yulcin have scored six goals between them in the league this season, and the pair will again feature in advanced areas for the visitors here.
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Babacan; Lima, Tagir, Duarte, Ponck; Aleksic, Ndayishimiye, Tekdemir, Ozcan, Chadli; Okaka
Besiktas possible starting lineup:
Destanoglu; Rosier, Saatci, Vida, Yilmaz; Karaman, Bozdogan, De Souza, Ozyakup, Yalcin; Batshuayi
We say: Istanbul Basaksehir 0-2 Besiktas
There is no question that the home side are capable of hurting Besiktas on Friday night, but we are finding it very difficult to predict anything other than an away victory here, with Batshuayi potentially on the scoresheet in a relatively routine success.
Top tip
Matt Law
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 Besiktas win with a probability of 41%. A win for Istanbul Basaksehir had a probability of 34.18% and a draw had a probability of 24.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Besiktas win was 1-2 with a probability of 8.8%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (8.55%) and 0-2 (6.47%). The likeliest Istanbul Basaksehir win was 2-1 (7.91%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.63%). The actual scoreline of 3-2 was predicted with a 2.7% likelihood.
