Fenerbahce will be looking to claim a sixth consecutive victory when they travel to the Caykur Didi Stadium to face Caykur Rizespor on Friday.
The Yellow Canaries are hoping to keep hold of second position, while numerous permutations could see the hosts relegated this weekend
Match preview
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With just five matches left to play, Caykur Rizespor are 10 points adrift of safety, and they could be relegated as soon as this weekend if they lose and results elsewhere go against them.
The 18th-placed side know that a win is required on Friday, and they will be looking to take inspiration from the fact that they have won their last two home matches.
Caykur Rizespor were also denied their first away victory of the season in their most recent league encounter after Kayserispor's Emrah Bassan cancelled out Joel Pohjanpalo's opener to ensure that the contest ended in a 1-1 draw.
That result represented Caykur Rizespor's only fourth away point this term, highlighting a major issue that has contributed to their lowly position in the league table.
Another factor in their struggles this season has been their defensive fragility, with Friday's hosts currently holding the worst defensive record in the league, and a backline bereft of confidence will be up against it on Friday as they look to negate the third-highest scorers in the Super Lig.
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At the other end of the table, Fenerbahce are embroiled in a battle with Konyaspor for second spot, which is crucially a Champions League qualification place.
The Yellow Canaries are only one point clear of Konyaspor, but they will be confident of holding onto second position after winning their last five matches.
They played host to Goztepe in their last outing, with Serdar Aziz giving Fenerbahce an early lead within four minutes before Francois Moubandje was sent-off for a foul in the box, and from the resulting penalty, Arda Guler made sure of the three points to seal a 2-0 victory.
Guler's spot kick ensured that for a fifth consecutive game that Fenerbahce netted at least two goals in a match, and that firepower has been particularly evident in away matches of late.
Across their last two away games, the Yellow Canaries have scored nine goals, while they also boast the second-best away record in the league, which will also cause the visitors to be optimistic ahead of Friday's encounter.
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Team News
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Yusuf Sari has missed the last two matches for Caykur Rizespor due to an injury issue and the forward is expected to miss out once again on Friday.
After coming off the bench to score in his last two appearances, Pohjanpalo is set to be given a starting spot, which could result in Papiss Cisse dropping down to the bench.
Bulent Korkmaz will be forced into a change in midfield, with Lebogang Phiri expected to replace Gedson Fernandes, who is suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
As for the visitors, injury problems are likely to prevent Attila Szalai and Dimitrios Pelkas from participating in Friday's encounter.
Despite scoring from the spot in his substitute appearance against Goztepe, Guler will once again have to settle for a place on the bench.
Irfan Kahveci, meanwhile, is set to return to the starting lineup after serving a one-match suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards.
Caykur Rizespor possible starting lineup:
Cetin; Gonul, Ponck, Holmen, Albayrak; Phiri, Baiano; Boyd, Sabo, Bolasie; Pohjanpalo
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Bayindir; Osayi-Samuel, Aziz, Kim, Kadioglu; Crespo, Zajc; Kahveci, Yandas, Rossi; Dursun
We say: Caykur Rizespor 1-3 Fenerbahce
Although Caykur Rizespor have avoided defeat in three of their last four matches, we think that they will fall short when they face a Fenerbahce side who are in imperious form after winning their last five matches.
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 Fenerbahce win with a probability of 62.07%. A draw had a probability of 20.3% and a win for Caykur Rizespor had a probability of 17.61%.
The most likely scoreline for a Fenerbahce win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.93%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.67%) and 0-1 (9.2%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.44%), while for a Caykur Rizespor win it was 2-1 (4.85%). The actual scoreline of 0-6 was predicted with a 0.5% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Fenerbahce would win this match.
