Sunday's Turkish Super Lig action includes one of the fiercest rivalries in European football, with Besiktas hosting Fenerbahce in an Istanbul derby.
The hosts came from behind to win a five-goal thriller and reignite their continental qualification hopes last weekend, whilst the visitors extended their incredible run of form in a 3-2 victory themselves.
Match preview
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After previously winning just one of their previous eight outings, Besiktas came back from a goal down to win 3-2 at Kayserispor last Sunday.
Former Tottenham Hotspur winger Georges-Kevin N'Koudou was the hero off the bench, netting two goals within seven minutes of his arrival in the second half to provide Valerien Ismael's side with a glimmer of hope in reaching the top four.
The result makes it two wins, two draws and one defeat for Kara Kartallar under the former West Bromwich Albion and Barnsley boss, who has been tasked with turning round the club's fortunes in the race for European qualification.
Ahead of the derby on Sunday, Besiktas find themselves down in sixth place, with six points keeping them below Basaksehir in fourth spot, whilst Konyaspor are out of reach due to a 10-point gap with only three games left to play.
With 10 of their 14 Super Lig wins this season coming at Vodafone Park, Ismael and Besiktas will be hoping that the home faithful can create a raucous atmosphere to cheer on their side to a vital three points over their rivals.
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Meanwhile, Fenerbahce make the short trip across Istanbul looking to end a four-game winless streak against their rivals, having also only won once in the last seven meetings with Sunday's hosts.
However, the visitors head to Vodafone Park on the back of a remarkable seven consecutive victories, and 10 from their last 11 outings in the league, which has propelled Ismail Kartal's side up the table ahead of the weekend's action.
Diego Rossi, Serdar Dursun and Miha Zajc got the goals in the narrow triumph over strugglers Gaziantep FK last time out, although Sarı Kanaryalar's dominance was not reflected by the 3-2 scoreline.
That seventh win on the bounce leaves Fenerbahce in second place at the time of writing, and with Konyaspor unexpectedly losing 2-1 on home soil last weekend, Kartal's side extended their advantage over third place to four points.
With favourable fixtures against Fatih Karagumruk and bottom-of-the-table Yeni Malatyaspor to follow in the final two outings, Fenerbahce will remain in the driving seat to achieve Champions League qualification for the 2022-23 campaign should they pick up another positive result on Sunday.
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Team News
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After picking up a red card in last weekend's victory, Besiktas' Francisco Montero will sit out the derby through a one-match suspension on Sunday.
With fellow defenders Domagoj Vida and Umut Meras remaining doubts due to injury, Ismael could well be faced with a selection dilemma in his three-man back line.
Right wing-back Valentin Rosier will also miss out through suspension too, having picked up another yellow card in the win at Kayserispor, whilst Can Bozdogan will face a race against time to recover from an ankle injury.
As for the visitors, Serdar Aziz will be a big miss in defence, with the 31-year-old serving a one-match suspension due to yellow card accumulation.
However, Kim Min-jae returns from a one-match ban to immediately slot back into the four-man back line, but versatile defender Attila Szalai remains doubtful due to a muscle problem.
Miguel Crespo is out for the season due to a foot injury, meaning the experienced Luiz Gustavo should partner Zajc at the base of the midfield once more, whilst Dimitrios Pelkas is labelled as a doubt due to a foot injury of his own.
Besiktas possible starting lineup:
Destanoglu; Uysal, Welinton, Saatci; Kalafat, Hutchinson, Pjanic, Yilmaz; Ghezzal, Batshuayi, N'Koudou
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Bayindir; Sangare, Kim, Tisserand, Kadioglu; Gustavo, Zajc; Kahveci, Yandas, Rossi; Dursun
We say: Besiktas 1-2 Fenerbahce
With Fenerbahce in such unstoppable form of late, and with Besiktas missing a number of vital components in their defence, we can see the visitors coming out with an eighth consecutive win here.
The intense derby atmosphere from the home faithful, as well as Fenerbahce's poor record against their rivals, could well play a part, but it is difficult to see how a Besiktas side playing far from their best can put a stop to this incredible run from the away team.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats, suggests the most likely outcome of this match is a Fenerbahce win with a probability of 42.45%. A win for Besiktas has a probability of 33.94% and a draw has a probability of 23.6%.
The most likely scoreline is Besiktas 1-1 Fenerbahce with a probability of 10.66% and the second most likely scoreline is Besiktas 1-2 Fenerbahce with a probability of 8.87%.
Top tip
Matthew Tranter
