After only two wins in their first 10 league games in the Turkish Super Lig, Istanbulspor have changed coach, with Fatih Tekke's first game in charge being this fixture against Fenerbahce at Bahcelievler Stadium on Sunday.
Jorge Jesus's side are coming into this fixture in great form, winning five of their last six league games and in their most recent game coming back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with Rennes in the Europa League.
Match preview
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This is Istanbulspor first season in the top division of Turkish football since the 2007-08 season and it has not got off to the best start, only picking up eight points in their opening 10 games, which has resulted in a change of management.
Fatih Tekke joins the club with his most recent managing spell being a short 12-game stint at Denizlispor when he lost six of those fixtures before being replaced. This will be his third time in charge of Istanbulspor, as he was most recently in charge of the club from January 2020 to March 2021.
The one player that Tekke will be looking to rely upon is Valon Ethemi, who has been the key part of any attacking threat that Istanbulspor have had; he has contributed three goals and one assist so far this season, which makes him the top scorer for the team.
Hosting top-of-the-table Fenerbahce is not exactly the easiest fixture to start off his new managerial reign but as they played on Thursday in the Europa League, this may be a good time to play them as they will be tired after their efforts in Europe.
A win in this fixture could move them out of the relegation zone, as the bottom of the table is still quite tight, with just two points separating Istanbulspor in 18th and Sivasspor in 13th.
Fenerbahce will come into this fixture with a lot of confidence, with their very good form in the league plus the heroics of their last fixture in the Europa League.
Things were looking dire after 30 minutes as they found themselves 3-0 down, but a goal from Enner Valencia in the 41st minute gave them some hope before two more goals late in the second half helped pull off the miraculous comeback.
In the league, Fenerbahce have won five of their last six league games and are unbeaten in their last six matches. Their only loss so far this season was a 1-0 defeat to Konyaspor, in a game that featured Valencia being sent off in the 22nd minute.
Despite that loss, they still sit top of the league, with a one-point lead and a game in hand on the two teams directly below them.
Ecuadorian forward Valencia is currently the top scorer in the division, with 10 goals in nine starts so far this season. The scoring of the team has also been helped by the four assists of Brazilian Lincoln, with the Fenerbahce attack being the best in the league, with a total of 29 goals scored.
After a hard-fought draw on Thursday, Fenerbahce will be hoping for a comfortable victory in this fixture, one which will hopefully allow them to give some of their key players a rest before a crucial Europa League tie on Thursday against Dynamo Kyiv.
Team News
With a new manager in charge, it is hard to predict how he will line up his side. Tekke's preferred formation in the past has been a 4-1-4-1, which could be used but this season so far, Istanbulspor have been using three-at-the-back and five-at-the-back formations.
The new manager will be without midfielder Eduard Rroca for this fixture as he picked up a red card in their last game against Antalyaspor, so will be suspended for this match. Melih Kabasakal is the most likely candidate to come in and replace him.
For Fenerbahce, Ismail Yuksek missed the Europa League fixture against Rennes with a minor injury but should be available for the game against Istanbulspor, with him likely to come in to replace Willian Arao.
Rotation may also happen in other positions to give some players a rest; Fred Kadioglu started the last league game but was on the bench for the fixture in the Europa League, and he will likely come back into the starting 11 to give Bright Osayi-Samuel a rest.
A change may also take place upfront, with Michy Batshuayi an option to start a league fixture again after featuring from the bench in Europe and Joao Pedro likely to drop out of the starting lineup.
Istanbulspor possible starting lineup:
Jensen; Yasar, Mehremic, Yesil, Erdogan, Berber; Ethemi, Sankaya, Kabasakal, Topalli; Gultekin
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Bayindir; Henrique, Aziz, Szalai; Yuksek, Lincoln, Crespo, Kahveci, Kadioglu; Valencia, Batshuayi
We say: Istanbulspor 0-2 Fenerbahce
After a testing fixture in Europe, we would not expect Fenerbahce to be at their scoring best but they should have enough quality to beat an Istanbulspor side under new management.
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