Two of the Turkish Super Lig's title candidates will face off on Monday at RAMS Park when champions Galatasaray host Besiktas in their 10th league game of the season.
The champions have 25 points and beat Antalyaspor 3-0 in their most recent league outing on October 19, while the visitors are third after eight matches with 20 points and beat Konyaspor 2-0 on October 20.
Match preview
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Galatasaray dominated Antalyaspor last weekend, creating six big chances and producing well over two xG, while their opponents created just one big chance and just over 0.3 xG.
Monday's hosts also beat Elfsborg 4-3 on Wednesday in the Europa League, a game in which they had taken a 3-0 lead by the 44th minute but almost gave away their advantage to the Swedish side who managed to score twice by the 65th minute.
The result leaves Cim Bom in seventh place in the Europa League table with seven points from three matches, and manager Okan Buruk will be confident that he can lead his side to the round of 16 of a European competition for just the second time since 2013-14.
Buruk's team are in outstanding form given they have won eight and drawn two of their 10 most recent matches, scoring 32 times and conceding on 12 occasions in that period.
Cim Bom have also won 26, drawn one and lost just one of their last 28 league fixtures, and have also won nine of their last 10 matches in the top flight.
Galatasaray's home record is slightly worse considering they have only won four of their last six league games at RAMS Park, but they have won 25 of their last 27 Super Lig fixtures at home.
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As for Besiktas, they come into Monday's clash in strong form themselves having won six of their eight most recent league matches, scoring 17 goals and conceding five in that time.
The Black Eagles were thoroughly deserving of their win against Konyaspor considering they produced numerous chances in front of goal, but manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst will still be concerned that his team faced 14 shots, nine of which were from inside the penalty area.
The visitors beat Lyon 1-0 in the Europa League on Thursday, keeping a clean sheet despite facing a total of 30 shots and conceding six big chances, while only creating three big chances of their own.
Van Bronckhorst's side have won three, drawn one and lost two of their six most recent games in all competitions, though both defeats came in the Europa League rather than the Turkish top flight.
Besiktas's away form is mixed, with the club winning two, drawing three and losing one of their last six matches on the road, and also winning just two of their last nine away games in the Super Lig.
Team News
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Left-back Ismail Jakobs will be absent for the hosts on Monday as a result of a knee injury he suffered on October 21, and he is not scheduled to return until early next month.
Despite fielding a back five against Elfsborg, Galatasaray have usually opted to utilise a back four this season, so expect Kaan Ayhan, Davinson Sanchez, Abdulkerim Bardakci and Berkan Kutlu to start in defence.
Buruk could also name Lucas Torreira and Gabriel Sara in a double pivot, while Dries Mertens may start in an attacking role behind striker Victor Osimhen.
As for the visitors, they will be without centre-back Necip Uysal until the middle of November and could be without Gabriel Paulista, who is a doubt for Monday's match.
Forward Milot Rashica is also ruled out, and this could mean that Van Bronckhorst names Rafa Silva, Joao Mario and Ernest Muci in attack behind striker Ciro Immobile.
Elsewhere, Gedson Fernandes and Cher Ndour may feature in midfield for Besiktas in front of centre-backs Felix Uduokhai and Emirhan Topcu.
Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Muslera; Ayhan, Sanchez, Bardakci, Kutlu; Torreira, Sara; Yilmaz, Mertens, Akgun; Osimhen
Besiktas possible starting lineup:
Destanoglu; Svensson, Uduokhai, Topcu, Masuaku; Ndour, Fernandes; Silva, Mario, Muci; Immobile
We say: Galatasaray 3-1 Besiktas
Given Besiktas' mixed away form of late, it is difficult to see how they manage to avoid defeat against the champions on Monday.
Considering Galatasaray's impressive goalscoring feats, it would not be surprising if they scored multiple goals against the visitors in front of their home crowd.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
