Preview:Fenerbahce vs Alanyaspor - prediction, team news, lineups

Fenerbahce and Alanyaspor will meet at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on Wednesday in a rescheduled Turkish Super Lig fixture originally slated for the opening round.

The Yellow Canaries were granted extra rest by the Turkish Football Federation due to their Champions League qualifying commitments, but they now approach this rearranged clash determined to use it to narrow the gap on leaders Galatasaray.

Match preview

Fenerbahce employed Jose Mourinho aiming to dethrone their fiercest rivals and return to the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2008-09, and failing on both fronts led to Mourinho’s dismissal.

The Istanbul giants have since turned to former Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco, who faced a baptism of fire in his first game on Sunday but emerged with a 1-0 win over Trabzonspor, albeit in controversial fashion.

Trabzonspor thought they had scored in the 14th minute, only for VAR to chalk it off for a foul – six minutes later, the visitors were reduced to 10 men, and Youssef En-Nesyri capitalised on the advantage with the match-winning goal on the stroke of half-time.

While debate lingers over the refereeing decisions, Tedesco will focus on the positives of a winning start against a difficult opponent, as the new boss kept his players in camp afterwards to further instill his ideas ahead of Wednesday’s test.

Fenerbahce trail Galatasaray by five points but have this game in hand, making victory crucial to keeping pace, but their dominance in this fixture is notable, unbeaten in eight meetings with seven wins and a draw, scoring five without reply over two legs last season, and this will fill them with confidence ahead of Wednesday’s clash.

Alanyaspor, however, will believe they can end that streak after a promising turnaround in form across the last two matches.

The Thunders began their league season with a goalless home draw against Caykur Rizespor and a 2-1 loss at Eyupspor but bounced back impressively, beating Besiktas 2-0 and edging Konyaspor 2-1 last time out.

Joao Pereira’s men now sit eighth on seven points, a stark contrast to last season, when they managed only two points from their first four matches and needed six rounds to reach this tally.

However, a second away trip within days could test their stamina, even if memories of a 2-2 draw at this ground in 2024 offer inspiration for a positive result.

Fenerbahce Turkish Super Lig form:

Fenerbahce form (all competitions):

Alanyaspor Turkish Super Lig form:

Alanyaspor form (all competitions):

Team News

Fenerbahce remain without Edson Alvarez (muscle injury), Jhon Duran (head injury), and Mert Hakan Yandas (foot issue).

Tedesco handed debuts to Kerem Akturkoglu, Ederson, and Marco Asensio against Trabzonspor, with Akturkoglu and Ederson starting, while Asensio came off the bench late on, but all three will not feature in this clash as they were not registered at the originally scheduled date of this clash.

En-Nesyri, in fine form with three goals in his last two league games, is again expected to lead the line, as he looks to extend his scoring streak.

Alanyaspor will continue to miss 23-year-old Turkish midfielder Buluthan Bulut, who is sidelined until winter with a knee injury.

The visitors have already shared goals among five different scorers this season, a diversity that Pereira will hope keeps Fenerbahce guessing.

New signing Uchenna Ogundu, who netted last time out, should spearhead their attack once more in the 3-4-2-1 system that will likely be deployed.

Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:

Egribayat; Muldur, Skriniar, Oosterwolde Brown; Yuksek, Fred; Aydin, Talisca, Szymanski; En-Nesyri

Alanyaspor possible starting lineup:

Taskiran; Akdag, Aliti, Lima; Ozdemir, Maestro, Makouta, Keskin; Hwang, Kaya; Ogundu

We say: Fenerbahce 3-1 Alanyaspor

Alanyaspor will approach this clash with confidence, but that alone may not be enough against a Fenerbahce side boasting greater quality and fresh energy under their new manager’s ideas, which is why we are backing the hosts to claim victory.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.