Two of the three worst teams in the Turkish Super Lig will meet at noon on Saturday at Esenyurt Necmi Kadioglu Stadium when Istanbulspor take on Pendikspor, a match between two sides that will do everything they can to avoid relegation this season.
The hosts lost 3-2 after extra time in the Turkish Cup on Wednesday, while Pendikspor suffered a 5-0 defeat to league leaders Fenerbahce last Sunday.
Match preview
After the extra-time defeat in the cup, Istanbulspor must focus on the league again, as the team's form in the Super Lig has been absolutely disastrous with just one win in nine games so far.
Their only win of the season came just under two weeks ago in a 2-1 home victory over Ankaragucu, with Djakaridja Traore and Emir Kaan Gultekin providing the all-important three points.
A five-game losing streak before their first win of the season left Istanbulspor in last place in the standings for a while, but things have not been much better since, as they currently sit in second-to-last place with just five points from nine games.
The 2023-24 season opened with two 1-1 draws against Konyaspor and Kayserispor, and then they had to wait more than a month for a win against Ankaragucu.
Hakan Yakin's men have fared slightly better at home this season, picking up one win and one draw, but despite that they have only picked up four points out of a possible 15 on home soil so far.
Pendikspor, on the other hand, were rolled over 5-0 by Fenerbahce, one of the best attacking teams in Europe this season, being completely outclassed for the entire 90 minutes and only registering a total of two shots on goal.
Like Istanbulspor, the visitors celebrated their first win of the season a week earlier when they defeated Konyaspor 2-1 away from home, with Abdoulay Diaby and Erencan Yardimci scoring twice in the second half.
That win ended their eight-game losing streak in the Super Lig, in which they suffered four draws and four defeats, leaving them in the relegation zone with just seven points after 10 games.
In contrast to Istanbulspor, the away record of Ivo Vieira's team is somewhat credible, with only two defeats in five games, also winning against Konyaspor and claiming two draws against Besiktas and Kasimpasa.
Team News
Istanbulspor go into Saturday's match with two injured players, as Simon Deli and Valon Ethemi are currently out.
The other absentee who will be out for the weekend is Bartu Kirtas, who was sent off with a straight red card in Wednesday's cup match. The 19-year-old has not made many appearances this season and is of relatively little importance to the team's lineup at this stage.
Emir Gueltekin and Ibrahim Yilmaz have proven to be the main attacking threats for Istanbulspor this season - the two are the team's top scorers with two goals each.
For the visitors, Fredrik Midtsjo, Thuram and Emeka Eze will not be available on Saturday.
Oscar Romero is Pendik's best attacker and has already scored three times, including two goals in the opening stages of the match.
Istanbulspor possible starting lineup:
Jensen; Duhaney, Erdogan, Yesil, Coly; Sankaya, Loshaj, Ndao, Jackson, Rroca; Traore
Pendikspor possible starting lineup:
Canpolat; Ozgenc, Sulungoz, Welinton, Sequeira; Akbunar, Vukovic, Akdag, Cekici; Kaya, Yardimci
We say: Istanbulspor 1-1 Pendikspor
These two teams are clearly among the relegation candidates, which makes the encounter even more valuable if they win.
The home and away records of the two teams are not very meaningful if we look at the bigger scheme of things, therefore the game can go either way.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
