Two sides who have had contrasting starts to the new campaign square off on Sunday as Fenerbahce play host to Antalyaspor at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.
The home team head into the weekend on a run of 10 consecutive wins across all competitions, while the visitors will be looking to pick up their first win of the season.
Match preview
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Fenerbahce maintained their 100% record in the 2023-24 Turkish Super Lig campaign as they picked up a 1-0 victory over Ankaragucu at the Eryaman Stadium on September 3.
In a game where Ismail Yuksek received his marching orders, 25-year-old midfielder Bright Osayi-Samuel came up trumps as he scored the only goal of the game on the hour mark to hand the hosts their second defeat of the season
Prior to that, Fenerbahce kicked off the new season with a 2-1 victory over 10-man Gaziantep in the league opener on August 13, eight days before edging out Samsunspor 2-0 at the Samsun 19 May Stadium.
Ismail Kartal's men have now won each of their last 10 matches across all competitions, a run which has seen them book their spot in the Europa Conference League group stages following a 6-1 aggregate win over Twente in the playoffs.
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Antalyaspor, on the other hand, were involved in a share of the spoils for the third consecutive game as they played out a 1-1 draw with Kayserispor when the sides squared off on September 2.
In an action-packed contest at the Corendon Airlines Park, Mame Thiam opened the scoring in the 34th minute to put the visitors ahead, but Sander van de Streek found the target 10 minutes later to force a share of the spoils.
Nuri Sahin's men have now been involved in a share of the spoils in each of their last three matches since kicking off the season with a 1-0 loss against Trabzonspor at the Senol Gunes Sports Complex on August 11.
With the result against Kayserispor, the Scorpions have now gone nine consecutive Super Lig matches without a win, losing four and picking up five draws since a 1-0 victory over Fatih Karagumruk on April 29.
While Antalyaspor will be looking to get their season up and running this weekend, they face the challenge of taking on an opposing side who are unbeaten in each of their last eight meetings since a 1-0 loss in October 2019.
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Team News
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Fenerbahce will be without midfielder Yuksek, who will sit out Sunday's tie through a one-game suspension after picking up a red card against Ankaragucu last time out.
In the absence of Yuksek, who has started each of the hosts' three league matches this season, Mert Hakan Yandas should come into the fold, forming the midfield pivot with former Manchester United man Fred.
On the injury front, Kartal will be unable to call upon the midfield duo of Emre Mor and 24-year-old Lincoln, who are currently recuperating from muscle and ACL injuries respectively.
Meanwhile, Antalyaspor will take to the pitch without experienced striker Gerrit Holtmann, who has been ruled out through a muscle injury.
He is joined on the Scorpions' injury table by 20-year-old midfielder Jakub Kaluzinski, who missed the game against Kayserispor last time out through a muscle problem.
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Livakovic; Osayi-Samuel, Becao, Djiku, Kadioglu; Yandas, Fred; Under, Szymanski, Tadic; Dzeko
Antalyaspor possible starting lineup:
Leite; Balci, Sari, Toprak, Vural; Akyol, Van de Streek; Larsson, Assombalonga, Saric; Buksa
We say: Fenerbahce X-Y Antalyaspor
Fenerbahce will be licking their lips as they take on an out-of-sorts Antalyaspor side who have stumbled into the new season. Kartal's side are currently firing on all cylinders and it is hard to not see them claiming another routine victory this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
