Round 16 of the 2021-22 Turkish Super Lig season concludes with a clash between Gaziantep and Fenerbahce at the Gaziantep Stadyumu on Monday.
The hosts are looking to move further away from the drop zone, while their visitors set out to move level on points with second-placed Konyaspor.
Match preview
With their qualification hopes already over heading into the game, Fenerbahce played out a 1-1 draw versus Frankfurt in their final Europa League group-stage clash on Thursday.
Mergim Berisha's strike three minutes shy of half time earned Vitor Pereira's men a point after they had earlier fallen behind to Djibril Sow's opener.
The Yellow Canaries, who are currently fifth in the Super Lig table, claimed an emphatic 4-0 victory over Rizespor in their last league outing on December 5.
Next up for the Istanbul-based outfit is a contest versus an opposing side with only one victory in the previous five meetings between the teams since 2003.
Monday's visitors face off against city rivals Besiktas in their subsequent league game and will be keen to set the tone for the derby with an impressive display in this one.
Gaziantep were beaten for the fourth away game running following a 2-1 defeat versus Goztepe on Monday.
A first-half brace from Adis Jahovic left Erol Bulut's men with a mountain to climb in the second period where Recep Niyaz pulled one back for his side.
Consequently, GFK are now just four points above the drop zone, albeit with a game in hand on three of the current bottom four teams.
One of only three teams yet to taste defeat on home turf this term, Monday's will be confident of recording another feather in the cap in front of their fans.
- D
- L
- W
- L
- W
- L
- L
- W
- L
- W
- W
- L
- L
- L
- D
- W
- D
- W
- D
- W
- L
- D
- W
- D
Team News
Altay Bayindir has missed the last seven games with a shoulder injury and will not feature for the away side on Monday.
Ecuadorian forward Enner Valencia is also absent for Fenerbahce as he continues to nurse an ankle problem.
Twenty-seven-year-old Jefferson is ruled out as he remains sidelined with a muscle injury he picked up in Gaziantep's victory over Kasimpasa last month.
The home side will also have to make do with the absence of Alexander Merkel, who is yet to recover from a torn hamstring.
Gaziantep possible starting lineup:
Guvenc; Tosca, Caulker, Ersoy; Mendyl, Maxim, Erdogan, Niyaz, Kitsiou; Demir, Dicko
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Ozer; Tisserand, Kim, Szalai; Kadioglu, Crespo, Luis Gustavo, Osayi-Samuel; Rossi, Berisha, Ozil
We say: Gaziantep 1-2 Fenerbahce
Fenerbahce are the more in-form side heading into this one and boast a better squad overall. We fancy them to carry the day, narrowly edging out their hosts at the sound of the final whistle.
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 46.61%. A win for Gaziantep had a probability of 28.45% and a draw had a probability of 24.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Fenerbahce win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.03%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.32%) and 0-2 (7.92%). The likeliest Gaziantep win was 1-0 (7.49%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.81%). The actual scoreline of 3-2 was predicted with a 2.2% likelihood.
