Round 17 of the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig will be wrapped up with a clash between two sides from the Marmara region, as Istanbul Basaksehir welcome Kasimpasa to the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadyumu on Monday evening.
The Grey Owls have been quite dominant in this fixture, but this one feels a bit closer than ever, with just three points separating both sides, and the hosts struggling for consistency at the moment.
Match preview
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After a solid 2023-24 campaign that saw them finish fourth and secure European qualification, Istanbul Basaksehir built on that success, starting the current season in blistering form.
They remained unbeaten in their first 10 matches across all competitions, winning eight of those games.
However, a Super Lig defeat to Samsunspor marked a turning point for the Grey Owls, as they failed to win in 11 of their next 12 matches, enduring a 10-match winless streak across all competitions.
A three-match winning run from November 30 to December 12 provided some respite for Cagdas Atan's side, but they have now failed to win either of their last two matches – a 3-1 defeat to Fenerbahce in their most recent Super Lig outing, followed by a 1-1 draw with Belgian side Cercle Brugge in the Conference League.
After 15 Super Lig matches, Basaksehir sit in seventh place with 22 points, five points adrift of fourth-placed Eyupspor, who have played two more games at the time of writing.
Bouncing back immediately will be the goal, and the hosts will have every reason to feel positive heading into Monday's clash, having won each of their last seven league encounters against the visitors.
Basaksehir are also one of the three sides, alongside Galatasaray and Goztepe, that are yet to lose a league fixture at home this season, recording three draws and four wins from seven home matches.
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A managerial change at Kasimpasa seems to have revived what had been a poor season, with Hakan Keles securing two wins and two draws from four matches across all competitions since his appointment on November 13.
A 2-0 win over Eyupspor in their most recent league outing, along with a 1-0 victory over second-tier side Genclerbirligi in the Turkish Cup on Thursday, followed consecutive league draws against Sivasspor and Trabzonspor.
With two wins in their last five Super Lig matches, the Apaches have climbed to 11th in the standings with 19 points after 15 matches, three points behind Monday's opponents and eight points off the top four.
Stretching this current streak could revive hopes of matching their fifth-place finish from last season, but the visitors face a huge task in picking up a result at a ground where they have lost every match since a 2-2 draw in December 2020.
Team News
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Asides Berkay Ozcan, who will no longer play for Basaksehir following the manager's declaration, there are a number of players also unavailable due to suspension, with Ousseynou Ba, Deniz Turuc and Jerome Opoku all missing out due to accumulated yellow cards.
Midfielders Joao Figueiredo and Onur Ergun, are sidelined with ankle injuries, while Philippe Keny (thigh), Serdar Gurler (muscle) and goalkeeper Muhammed Sengezer (rib), are also out with injuries.
Krzysztof Piatek, who is joint-top in the Super Lig scorer's chart with 10 goals, will hope to find the net for the seventh game in a row across all competitions.
Kasimpasa will be without Kevin Rodrigues, who is suspended after crossing the yellow card threshold.
Nigerian defender Kenneth Omeruo, will also miss the clash due to a ligament injury.
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Dilmen; Duarte, Gureler, Kaplan, Lima; Ozdemir; Pelkas, Crespo, Kemen, Davidson; Piatek
Kasimpasa possible starting lineup:
Gianniotis; Ouanes, Ozcan, Opoku, Rodrigues; Gul; Brekalo, Kara, Hajradinovic, Fall; Da Costa
We say: Istanbul Basaksehir 2-1 Kasimpasa
Despite their struggles, Basaksehir have held strong on home soil, while they have also historically dominated Kasimpasa.
We believe that the game will be keenly-contested, but we expect the hosts to emerge victorious by a slim margin.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
