Galatasaray will be looking to pick up their first win of the 2023-24 Turkish Super Lig season when they play host to Trabzonspor at the Rams Global Stadium on Saturday night.
The hosts come into this match off the back of a successful second-leg Champions League tie against Olimpija, while the visitors secured a winning start to their league season with a victory over Antalyaspor on the opening weekend.
Match preview
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Galatasaray earned their 23rd domestic league title last season and returned to the summit of the Super Lig after three seasons with 88 points, overcoming their closest rivals Fenerbahce by an eight-point margin.
Over the course of the season, Gala recorded 28 wins, four draws and four losses in their 36 league matches and maintained the best defensive record in the division with just 27 goals conceded.
Okan Buruk's side have begun this season fairly promisingly, beating Slovenian champions Olimpija 4-0 on aggregate in the Champions League third qualifying round over the last two weeks and have secured a playoff spot against Molde in the process.
However, the only blemish to an otherwise excellent start to the 2023-24 campaign came last weekend against Kayserispor, who managed to hold the reigning champions to a 0-0 draw in the opening match of the league campaign.
While Buruk will have one eye on their upcoming midweek clash in Europe, he has massively bolstered his squad over the summer break and will be firmly expecting his side to secure the three points in this one.
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Meanwhile, the 2021-22 league champions Trabzonspor will look back on last season with genuine disappointment, as they were not only forced to relinquish the league title but also finished the season outside the European Cup qualification places.
Nenad Bjelica took on the role of manager following Abdullah Avci's departure last April but had limited time to make much of an impact as his side ended the league campaign in sixth place with 57 points (W17 D6 L13), 12 points behind the top four teams.
Notably, their biggest issue last season was in defence, where they shipped a massive total of 54 goals, which was the same number as 14th-placed Sivaspor conceded over the course of the campaign.
However, the initial signs this term suggest that Bjelica has made improvements in that regard, as his side maintained two clean sheets in their final three pre-season matches and also shut out Antalyaspor 1-0 last weekend in the league.
Still, going up against the league champions at Rams Global Stadium is a completely different type of challenge, as Gala have not lost at this venue in their last 17 matches, which includes 15 wins and just two draws, dating back over a year.
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Team News
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Mauro Icardi opened his account for his new employers in midweek against Olimpija and should continue in attack, which could mean that Cedric Bakambu will have to settle for a spot on the bench.
Lucas Torreira will not be eligible to play against Molde this upcoming week after receiving a red card against Olimpija; therefore, the Uruguayan should start in this one, while Wilfried Zaha will be hoping for a starting role after featuring off the bench in midweek.
Bjelica will have two enforced absentees in this match, with Mislav Orsic and Jean-Philippe Gbamin both ruled out with an ACL and hamstring injury, respectively.
Umut Bozok had a fairly quiet evening against Antalyaspor last week, and the Trabzonspor boss may be tempted to hand Maxi Gomez a start at the top end of the pitch in this one.
New signing and Tonio Teklic will be hoping to be promoted to the starting 11, while fellow new arrival Filip Benkovic should keep his place alongside last week's match winner Stefano Denswil in the centre of defence.
Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Muslera; Boey, Nelsson, Bardakci, Angelino; Kutlu, Torreira; Torreira, Mertens, Zaha; Icardi
Trabzonspor possible starting lineup:
Cakir; Larsen, Benkovic, Denswil, Elmali; Kourbelis, Visca, Bakasetas, Omur, Trezeguet; Gomez
We say: Galatasaray 2-1 Trabzonspor
While Gala will have one eye on their Champions League encounter in midweek, they should still have more than enough depth in their squad to field a formidable starting 11 and go on to win this match. We feel both teams will get on the scoresheet, but the hosts should come out on top.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
