Fenerbahce are aiming to climb into the Turkish Super Lig top four on Saturday, when they travel to face 15th-placed Antalyaspor, who are looking for their first league win in four matches.
Antalyaspor are sitting dangerously just above the relegation zone, only four points clear of Goztepe, Kasimpasa, Altay and Caykur Rizespor, with the fight for survival remaining very tight.
Match preview
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Nuri Sahin's side returned to Super Lig action on Sunday after two cup games, but a damaging 4-0 defeat against 16th-placed Goztepe has dragged Antalyaspor further into a relegation fight.
Antalyaspor will have many regrets from that game, having created more chances than their hosts, but allowing Goztepe to score with all four shots that they registered on goal during the 90 minutes.
Saturday's home team will be glad to be back on their own patch, having collected 12 more points at the Antalya Stadyumu than they have managed on their travels, and they have not lost a league game at home since October.
Having only kept four clean sheets this campaign, Antalyaspor's goal difference puts them at a slight disadvantage compared to the teams around them in the table, suggesting that Sahin's side will have to rely on collecting more points rather than letting their goal difference lift them up the league.
Fenerbahce are looking to bounce back this weekend after suffering a 2-1 defeat against Adana Demirspor on Monday, missing their opportunity to leapfrog their opponents into the top four.
Enner Valencia gave Zeki Murat Gole's side the lead in that game but their visitors turned the game around with ease, by totalling nine shots on target, more than double that of Fenerbahce.
The Sari Kanaryalar have only lost two consecutive games on one occasion this season back in October, and they will be looking to keep it that way by avoiding defeat on Saturday.
If the visitors cannot collect any points against Antalyaspor, that could leave them four points behind Adana Demirspor, putting more pressure onto themselves to qualify for a European competition next year.
Fenerbahce are also looking to avoid a similar campaign to the 2019-20 season, when they finished 7th in the Super Lig, their worst finish since 1981, and so they cannot afford to lose against a team in a relegation battle.
A replica result to that of which Fenerbahce achieved the last time these two teams met in August would do nicely for Saturday's visitors, having beaten Antalyaspor 2-0 at the beginning of this season.
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Team News
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Harun Alpsoy has not featured for Antalyaspor all season due to a muscle injury, but the 24-year-old is nearing a return to action, however he is unlikely to feature in the squad on Saturday.
Ufuk Akyol is a certain absentee for the hosts as he continued to be sidelined with a cruciate ligament injury, which has ruled the German out of action for the rest of the campaign.
The home team could set up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, lead by Paul Mukairu up front, with Dogukan Sinik and Amilton providing the creative spark behind the lone striker.
Fenerbahce goalkeeper Altay Bayindir has not played since the end of October due to a shoulder injury, and he is not expected to start this weekend but he is closing in on a return to the side.
Midfielder Luiz Gustavo and attacker Mergim Berisha will also be absent from Fenerbahce's squad due to injury, while there are no other forced injury absences or suspensions for the visitors.
Gole could start with Valencia leading the line after he netted his third goal of the season last time out, and Mesut Ozil is likely to come back into the team on the left wing.
Antalyaspor possible starting lineup:
Boffin; Kudryashov, Naldo, Sari; Vural, Fredy, Balci, Floranus; Sinik, Amilton; Mukairu
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Ozer; Novak, Szalai, Kim, Osayi-Samuel; Sosa; Ozil, Crespo, Yandas, Kahveci; Valencia
We say: Antalyaspor 0-2 Fenerbahce
Antalyaspor are likely to still be haunted by their 4-0 defeat against Goztepe and Fenerbahce need to take advantage of that to collect all three points this weekend.
Taking into consideration their league positions, the visitors are favourites for this encounter and they are expected to win the game with their superior quality.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Fenerbahce win with a probability of 44.28%. A win for Antalyaspor had a probability of 29.59% and a draw had a probability of 26.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Fenerbahce win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.97%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.99%) and 0-2 (7.94%). The likeliest Antalyaspor win was 1-0 (8.59%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.42%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.4% likelihood.
