Turkish Super Lig runners-up from last season Galatasaray are already seven points behind this campaign's early leaders Trabzonspor, and so they will be desperate for three points against Gaziantep FK on Sunday.
Gaziantep have had a mixed start to the Super Lig season, only winning three out of their opening 10 matches, but they currently sit 12th and just five points off this weekend's hosts.
Match preview
© Reuters
Fatih Terim's side would have been disappointed to lose 2-1 against Besiktas last time out, having created more chances than the Turkish champions, but Alexandru Cicaldau's single strike was not enough to combat Cyle Larin's brace for the home team.
That defeat was Galatasaray's third of the league season, and when they lost their first game of the campaign against Alanyaspor in September, Terim's team could not bounce back and followed that up with another loss.
The Cimbom's will be looking for a more positive reaction this time around as another defeat could leave Galatasaray 10 points away from the top of the table come the end of this weekend.
Of those three defeats, though, only one of them has come on home soil, suggesting that Galatasaray are strong favourites for Sunday's clash, having won three of the four Super Lig matches in Istanbul this season.
Gaziantep have been unable to find consistency in their opening 10 games, winning, drawing and losing twice in their last six Super Lig outings.
Most recently, Erol Bulut's team had to wait until the 92nd minute for their equaliser against Giresunspor which came through an own goal from Alexis Perez, and the points were shared after the game finished in a 1-1 draw.
The likelihood of Gaziantep picking up any points on Sunday is slim if their away form this season is anything to judge the team by, having only earned one point from five games on their travels.
Gaziantep have conceded 12 goals in those five away games, and while Galatasaray have been more effective in front of goal on their travels, Sunday could present an opportunity for the home side to improve their stats on their own patch by taking advantage of Gaziantep's poor away form.
Galatasaray completed the league double over Gaziantep last season, winning those outings by margins of 3-1 and 2-1, and a similar scoreline is expected this weekend.
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
- L
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- D
- W
- L
- W
- L
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Omar Elabdellaoui has not featured for Galatasaray since December and he will continue to be absent, while Arda Turan and Sacha Boey are nearing returns to action, but this weekend's outing will have come too soon for the injured pair.
Midfielder Berkan Kutlu made his league return to the starting lineup after serving his suspension from the red card which he received against Rizespor, and he will keep his place in the centre of the pitch alongside Taylan Antalyali.
Mostafa Mohamed will lead the line for the home side and he will want to bounce back after missing an 81st-minute penalty against Besiktas last time out.
Hamza Mendyl will be unavailable for the visitors as he will serve his suspension for picking up his fourth yellow card of the season already.
Pawel Olkowski and Jefferson will not feature as they close in on full recoveries from muscle injuries, and Angelo Sagal was forced off after 39 minutes last time out, making him a doubt for Sunday's encounter.
Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Muslera; Van Aanholt, Nelsson, Ozturk, Yedlin; Antalyali, Kutlu; Akturkoglu, Dervisoglu, Morutan; Mohamed
Gaziantep possible starting lineup:
Guvenc; Ersoy, Tosca, Caulker, Kitsiou; Djilobodji, Erdogan; Figueiredo, Maxim, Dicko; Demir
We say: Galatasaray 2-1 Gaziantep
Galatasaray have been strong at home this season and that form is expected to continue against a side which has only managed to collect one point on their travels.
After defeat in the league last time out, Terim's side are likely to want a quick start to this game to get on the front foot early and put Gaziantep under pressure.
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 Galatasaray win with a probability of 67.71%. A draw had a probability of 19.2% and a win for Gaziantep had a probability of 13.12%.
The most likely scoreline for a Galatasaray win was 2-0 with a probability of 11.92%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (11.17%) and 2-1 (9.73%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.12%), while for a Gaziantep win it was 0-1 (4.27%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with an 11.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 2-0 win for Galatasaray in this match.
