Preview: Fatih Karagumruk vs Istanbul Basaksehir - prediction, team news, lineups

This match has been postponed.

Fatih Karagumruk will kick off their top-flight return with a home game against city rivals Istanbul Basaksehir in the 2025-26 Turkish Super Lig on Sunday.

The hosts were relegated in the 2023-24 season after finishing 18th with 40 points, and to avoid a recurrence, they will hope to start the campaign on a bright note.

Match preview

After the heartbreak of relegation, Fatih quickly settled into life in the Turkish second division, finishing third with 66 points to secure a spot in the playoffs by the end of the campaign.

The Black Red took on Bandirmaspor in the playoffs, and after a 1-1 draw in normal time, they struck twice in extra time to seal a 3-1 victory and a return to the Super Lig.

Fatih went through five different managers during their time in the second division, but have now appointed former Dynamo Moscow boss Marcel Licka ahead of this new campaign.

They played three pre-season friendlies in preparation, recording a win, draw, and a loss, the most recent being a 4-2 defeat to last season’s top-flight side Bodrumspor.

Fatih enter this clash as underdogs given recent events, but they have enjoyed the upper hand in this fixture historically, last losing to Basaksehir in 2005, back when both sides were in the second tier.

Istanbul Basaksehir will be hoping to end an eight-match winless streak across all competitions against the hosts when they take to the pitch.

The Grey Owls are in strong form, having won each of their last five matches including preseason games, and are unbeaten in six overall.

Cagdas Atan’s side already began competitive action thanks to their participation in the Conference League qualifiers, where they eased past Bulgarian side Cherno More 5-0 on aggregate in the second round.

They followed that up with an impressive 3-1 win away to Norwegian outfit Viking in the first leg of their third round tie on Thursday, making it two wins from two on the road this season, momentum they will aim to maintain on Saturday.

Fatih Karagumruk form (all competitions):

Istanbul Basaksehir form (all competitions):

Team News

Fatih lost last season’s top scorer Wesley Moraes to a move to China, but have bolstered the squad ahead of the new campaign, with goalkeeper Fatih Kurucuk and left-back Jure Balkovec both arriving on free transfers.

Another goalkeeper, Enzo Roco, was also brought in this summer, while striker Tiago Cukur and winger Mustafa Ozkoroglu joined for undisclosed fees.

Davie Selke and Deniz Turuc both came off the bench to score in Basaksehir’s win over Viking and will be pushing for starting roles.

Ousseynou Ba and Leo Duarte are expected to form the centre-back pairing, while Christopher Operi — scorer of the opener in midweek — is set to start on the right side of the defence.

Fatih Karagumruk possible starting lineup:

Kurucuk; Kose, Kurukalip, Parmaksiz, Balkovec; Cankaya, Doh; Camacho, Kalayci, Tugyan; Cukur

Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:

Sengezer; Operi, Ba, Duarte, Bulut; Crespo, Ozdemir, Sahiner; Brnic, da Costa, Sari

We say: Fatih Karagumruk 1-3 Istanbul Basaksehir

Basaksehir come into this tie with more stability and experience, while Karagumruk are still trying to rebuild after several changes in the off-season.

Although the hosts can be tricky at home, Basaksehir’s better organisation and attacking options could make the difference.

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