Besiktas will be looking to continue their solid start to the season when they face Sivasspor in a matchday four Super Lig clash at Besiktas Park on Sunday evening.
The hosts are currently in 11th place in the league standings, though they have played a game less than most of the sides above them, while the visitors have also made a good start to the season and are in the top three in the early stages of the campaign.
Match preview
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Besiktas will come into this match brimming with confidence, having secured Europa Conference League football this season after overcoming Dinamo Kyiv 4-2 on aggregate in the playoff qualifiers.
They secured a 3-2 lead in the first leg in Kyiv and got the job done at this venue on Thursday night, winning 1-0 and taking their record for this season to eight matches unbeaten, with seven ending in victory.
Senol Gunes's side were rampant in Europe over the last month, scoring 14 goals in their six qualification matches, and they will now turn their focus back to the domestic league, where they conceded their only draw to date against Pendikspor two weeks ago.
The Black Eagles recorded 78 points last season, which was 37 more than their upcoming opponents, and they have not lost a single match at Besiktas Park in any competition in their last 30 matches dating back to September 2022.
Meanwhile, following a poor 2022-23 league season, Sivasspor have made a promising start to the current campaign and are on five points and in third place after three matches.
The Braves avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth last season, finishing with 41 points in 36 matches, just one point above Giresunspor and the drop zone.
The early stages of the season has seen the visitors draw matches against Samsunspor and Antalyaspor at home, while they won their only away match against Gaziantep FK 2-0 a couple of weeks ago.
However, they now face their most difficult opponent this season and will know they are in for a testing evening, as heading to Beskitas Park has proven to be a tough assignment for even the best sides across Europe in recent times.
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Gunes will be without several players here, starting with Arthur Masuaku, who is suffering from a muscle injury and is expected to be out for a few weeks.
Daniel Amartey (muscle injury), Emrecan Uzunhan (leave) and Tayyib Talha Sanuc (ACL injury) are all for the foreseeable future, while Semih Kilicsoy could return to the squad having shaken off a foot injury.
Gerson Rodrigues has been the standout player for Sivasspor this season, with two goals in his last two matches, and he will likely play in a front three with Clinton Njie and Emrah Bassan.
Samuel Saiz opened his account against Gaziantep and has pulled the strings in midfield, which should see him retain his place in the starting 11.
Besiktas possible starting lineup:
Gunok; Rosier, Montero, Colley, Meras; Ucan, Hadziahmetovic, Fernandes; Muleka, Aboubakar, Rashica
Sivasspor possible starting lineup:
Sasal; Paluli, Osmanpasa, Appindangoye, Ciftci; Charisis, Konak, Saiz; Bassan, Njie, Rodrigues
We say: Besiktas 3-1 Sivasspor
Besiktas have been brilliant in the early stages of the season and came through the Conference League qualifiers with flying colours. We expect them to bring the same type of form back to the domestic competition, starting with a solid win in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
