Preview: Fenerbahce vs. Istanbul Basaksehir
Fenerbahce will bid to extend their winning start to the Turkish Super Lig season when struggling Istanbul Basaksehir visit the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on Thursday.
Following five successive victories, the Yellow Canaries sit two points clear of Galatasaray, while the Grey Owls find themselves 17th after losing four of their first five matches.
Fenerbahce made it five wins from five with a 1-0 victory over Alanyaspor last time out, with Irfan Kahveci scoring the only goal of the game on the stroke of half time, although the visitors racked up 15 shots throughout the contest while limiting the hosts to a solitary attempt on target.
Not only have the Yellow Canaries won each of their five league games this season, but they have also conceded just three goals in the process, meaning that Ismail Kartal’s side boast the joint-best defensive record in the Turkish top flight.
When you look at the bigger picture, Fenerbahce have won each of their 12 encounters across all competitions in 2023-24, making it through three Europa Conference League qualifying rounds before claiming a 3-1 victory over Nordsjaelland in the competition proper last week.
Having scored 33 goals across their 12 victories this term – averaging 2.75 goals per game – Fener will be confident of heaping more misery on struggling Istanbul Basaksehir, who find themselves in the relegation zone following a dismal start to the campaign.
Preview: Fenerbahce vs. Istanbul – prediction, team news, lineups
Basaksehir’s season went from bad to worse as they suffered a 2-1 home defeat against Galatasaray last weekend, facing a barrage of 16 shots while registering a single attempt on target, with goals from Hakim Ziyech and Mauro Icardi inflicting another loss on the Super Lig strugglers.
Cagdas Atan’s men started their campaign with three consecutive defeats, failing to score in losses against Alnyaspor, Fatih Karagumruk and Konyaspor, although they managed to stop the rot with a 2-0 victory over Istanbulspor after the international break.
However, the Grey Owls swiftly returned to losing ways last time out and remain in the relegation zone as a result, having taken three points from a possible 15 this season, while only the bottom two clubs – Istanbulspor and Samsunspor – have picked up fewer points.
To make matters worse, Basaksehir have netted just three goals in five outings this term, meaning that Atan’s side possess the second-worst offensive record in the Super Lig, so new attackers like Emmanuel Dennis and Krzysztof Piatek will need to step up.
Fenerbahce Turkish Super Lig form:
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Fenerbahce form (all competitions):
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Istanbul Basaksehir Turkish Super Lig form:
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We say: Fenerbahce 3-0 Istanbul Basaksehir
While Fenerbahce have conceded three goals across five Super Lig victories this season, Istanbul Basaksehir have scored three goals while suffering four defeats.