Galatasaray will aim to move to the top of the Turkish Super Lig table on Friday, when Kasimpasa make the short trip across Istanbul to RAMS Park.
Still unbeaten after 10 league outings, the hosts sit just two points behind leaders Fenerbahce having won each of their last nine top-flight games, while their visitors sit fifth following back-to-back victories of their own.
Match preview
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Galatasaray will raise the curtain on the weekend's Turkish Super Lig action on Friday with the aim of moving to the summit of the division, having enjoyed an almost perfect start to their title defence after winning the domestic top flight for the 23rd time last time around.
Since drawing away at Kayserispor on the opening day, Okan Buruk's side have won nine consecutive league matches, scoring 19 goals and conceding just five along the way, and they only remain second as a result of Fenerbahce's perfect start to the campaign with 30 points on the board.
After heading into the October international break with 22 points on the board from eight matches, Gala have further strengthened their claim for top spot on their return to action, firstly meeting title rivals Besiktas and scoring a crucial 2-1 home win thanks to Mauro Icardi's brace.
Then following a 3-1 defeat in a tough test at home to German champions Bayern Munich in the third round of Champions League group-stage matches, the Istanbul giants most recently travelled to take on Caykur Rizespor on Saturday and again came away with all three points as Sergio Oliveira netted the only goal of the game, with Buruk's men seeing out a sixth league clean sheet of the season.
Having kept pace with Fenerbahce thanks to their own strong start, Galatasaray will now aim to make it 10 straight top-flight wins to go top of the Turkish Super Lig, at least until Saturday, when they meet a Kasimpasa side who they did the double over in their title-winning campaign last time around.
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That will be no easy task, though, with the visitors aiming to build on a positive start of their own on Friday and travelling across Istanbul on the back of consecutive wins.
Following their 10th-placed finish last time around, Kasimpasa sit fifth in Turkey's top flight with 18 points on the board from their opening 10 outings, with only the top three having scored more than their 17 goals, although there are more concerns defensively with no team outside of the bottom five having shipped as many as the 17 goals that they have also conceded.
Since returning to action on 12 points from eight matches in mid-October, the Apaciler have put back-to-back three-point hauls and appear to have arrested their poor defensive form somewhat, firstly beating Sivasspor 1-0 away from home thanks to Iron Gomis's 53rd-minute goal, before hosting Istanbulspor last Friday and coming away with a 3-1 victory having gone three goals up through Mamadou Fall, Aytac Kara and Julien Ngoy.
On a high following those consecutive triumphs, Kemal Ozdes's side now head into Friday's tough trip on the back of a 3-0 beating of Aksarayspor in the Turkish Cup on Monday, as Yasin Ozcan, Claudio Winck and Selim Dilli all got on the scoresheet in the first half.
With a degree of momentum on their side having now climbed to fifth spot with their back-to-back wins, while only conceding one goal in their three matches since the break, Kasimpasa will aim to pull off a major upset at RAMS Park on Friday to crack the top three before the sides around them play later on in the weekend.
Team News
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Galatasaray should come into Friday's meeting with a clean bill of health, aside from the continued absence of Tanguy Ndombele due to a fitness concern.
In their 4-2-3-1 shape, competition is still rife in midfield even without the Frenchman, with Sergio Oliveira pushing to come in from the outset after netting their winning goal off the bench on Saturday, with Lucas Torreira and Kerem Demirbay preferred for the Caykur Rizespor contest.
Indeed, Buruk has decisions to make all over the pitch, with Wilfired Zaha, Dries Mertens and Kerem Akturkoglu all hoping to keep their places behind lone striker Mauro Icardi amid competition from Tete, Hakim Ziyech and Halil Dervisoglu, while Davinson Sanchez and Abdulkerim Bardakci should again get the nod in the middle of the defence in front of veteran goalkeeper Fernando Muslera after seeing out another clean sheet last time out.
Kasimpasa will likely remain without forward Nuno Da Costa and midfielder Samuel Bastien heading into Friday's match, and they could revert to the same starting XI from their 3-1 victory over Istanbulspor last Friday.
Without Da Costa, Julien Ngoy should again lead the line after scoring his first goal of the season in that win, while Aytac Kara has been their star man in attack so far this term, having notched up seven goals in 10 Super Lig outings.
Behind him and dangerous wingers Mamadou Fall and Iron Gomis, Gokhan Gonul should again play a key role at the base of the midfield, while Nigerian international Kenneth Omeruo and former Fenerbahce man Sadik Ciftpinar will continue to partner up at the heart of the defence.
Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Muslera; Boey, Sanchez, Bardakci, Tasende; Oliveira, Torreira; Zaha, Mertens, Akturkoglu; Icardi
Kasimpasa possible starting lineup:
Gianniotis; Winck, Omeruo, Ciftpinar, Aksu; Gonul; Gomis, Hajradinovic, Kara, Fall; Ngoy
We say: Galatasaray 2-0 Kasimpasa
Kasimpasa will travel with confidence on the back of three consecutive wins, but Galatasaray are in fine form and full of momentum heading into Friday's meeting, having come out on top in each of their last nine Super Lig outings.
With home advantage on their side and a formidable defensive record, and the chance to go top with a victory, Buruk's men should have what it takes to see off a dangerous Apaciler side and take three more points.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
