Turkey begin their preparations for Euro 2020 on Thursday as they welcome European neighbours Azerbaijan to the Bahcesehir Okullari Stadium for a friendly battle.
Senol Gunes's side are taking part in their first of two friendly matches before the Euros takes precedence, while Azerbaijan's bid to qualify for the tournament ended in abject failure.
Match preview
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A daunting group awaits for Turkey in the rescheduled European Championships, which they qualified for with relative ease, as Gunes's side prepare for battle in Group A with Wales, Italy and Switzerland for the right to advance to the knockout phase.
Turkey will seek to channel the spirits of the 2008 luminaries after their remarkable run to the semi-finals, and Gunes may be thankful that his side's scheduled friendly with Northern Ireland on May 31 was cancelled, allowing his players more time to rest and recover before a battle with Moldova on June 3.
The Crescent-Stars and their tireless talisman Burak Yilmaz got off to a strong start in their bid to make the 2022 World Cup finals, taking seven points from their first three games in March to sit top of Group G, one point ahead of 2010 runners-up Netherlands at this early stage.
Qatar takes a back seat for now, though, as Gunes hopes to maintain a winning formula and allow his side to gel in two relatively 'friendly' friendly fixtures before the going gets tough, and incredibly, Turkey have only suffered three defeats in their last 24 games across all tournaments.
Turkey's home fixtures never tend to be drab affairs, either, as the Crescent-Stars have scored and conceded at least two goals in each of their last five games on familiar territory - winning two and drawing three of them - so the stage is set for an enticing affair as international football resumes.
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The less that is said about Azerbaijan's Euros qualifying campaign the better, as they amassed only a solitary point from their eight matches in Group E on their way to a fifth-placed finish - 11 points adrift of second-from-bottom Hungary.
Giovanni De Biasi has been unable to inspire a turnaround in fortunes since his appointment last July, with his team claiming just one win of their 2020-21 UEFA Nations League campaign - a 1-0 triumph over Cyprus - and their road to Qatar began with back-to-back defeats in March.
Azerbaijan were arguably unfortunate to suffer defeat against Portugal, as the game could only be decided by a Maksim Medvedev own goal, and it took a late Aleksandar Mitrovic winner for Serbia to claim a 2-1 win over De Biasi's men in their most recent outing.
A 2-1 friendly defeat to Qatar was sandwiched in between those two qualification defeats for Azerbaijan, who also have friendly clashes with Belarus and Moldova to prepare for next month, and Ramil Sheydayev's penalty against Qatar is the only goal that De Biasi's men have scored in their last five away matches.
Turkey have marched to victory in four of their six meetings with Azerbaijan since 2000, but the Crescent-Stars did suffer a 1-0 defeat to their upcoming opponents during qualification for Euro 2012.
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Team News
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Turkey's 30-man squad once again comprises celebrated names such as Yilmaz, Caglar Soyuncu, Hakan Calhanoglu and Yusuf Yazici, but Gunes may be tempted to prioritise Super Lig players for their first game, as other leagues across Europe only finished last weekend.
Cenk Tosun had to be withdrawn from the squad in March due to coronavirus, and the striker has since sustained a serious knee injury, ruling him out of contention for the Euros. Liverpool man Ozan Kabak has made the cut despite his own spell on the sidelines, though.
The last thing that Gunes needs before the Euros is more injury concerns to star performers, so a conservative approach on Thursday could see uncapped players such as Kerem Akturkoglu and Ridvan Yilmaz get their first tastes of international football.
De Biasi's side gave a good account of themselves in March, and the Azerbaijan manager may opt to stick with the same five-at-the-back formula against a promising Turkey outfit.
Sheydayev was demoted back down to the bench for the meeting with Serbia after netting his side's consolation goal against Qatar, but he is a strong candidate to lead the line here.
Turkey possible starting lineup:
Gunok; Muldur, Soyuncu, Demiral; Yilmaz; Yazici, Tufan, Tekdemir, Akturkoglu; Karaman, Unal
Azerbaijan possible starting lineup:
Mahammadaliyev; A.Huseynov, B.Huseynov, Medvedev, Badalov, Krivotsyuk; Makhmudov, Mustafayev, Ibrahimli; Sheydayev, Nuriyev
We say: Turkey 2-0 Azerbaijan
Turkey may yet be dark horses for the Euro 2020 crown, especially with Yilmaz, Yazici and Zeki Celik returning to international duty after playing key roles in Lille's Ligue 1 title win.
Gunes may be tempted to tinker with his side in their friendly battles, but whatever team the 68-year-old puts out should have enough quality to see off a resilient, albeit struggling Azerbaijan outfit.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
