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

Fenerbahce host Besiktas at Chobani Stadyumu on Saturday in round four of the Turkish Super Lig season, with the first major Istanbul derby of the campaign offering both sides an opportunity to make an early statement in the title race.

Ismail Kartal's men have recovered from an opening-day defeat to Genclerbirligi by winning their last two league matches, while Vincenzo Italiano's side arrive after responding to consecutive defeats with a demolition of Corum.

Match preview

Fenerbahce's season began with an unexpected 2-1 defeat away to Genclerbirligi, putting a lot of pressure on Kartal in his first league return to the club for his third spell as manager.

However, the Yellow Canaries responded emphatically by beating Konyaspor 4-2 on matchday two before picking up a 2-0 victory over Samsunspor last time out, as Vedat Muriqi continued the fine start to his career at the club by opening the scoring before Archie Brown added a second, allowing Kartal's side to record their first Super Lig clean sheet of the season.

It was also a third straight win for the Istanbul side across all competitions, a run that included the Champions League playoff victory over Lyon (2-1) that secured their return to Europe's elite competition.

The underlying numbers are particularly encouraging in the Super Lig, with Fenerbahce scoring seven goals from 7.42 xG across their first three Super Lig matches, underperforming their chance creation by 0.42 goals, while they have also conceded three times from only 2.90 xGA, suggesting that their defensive record could be slightly better.

That combination could be significant in a derby, with the Yellow Canaries creating chances at a rate of 2.47 xG per match, second only to Galatasaray in the league, but they will have to be better in both boxes against one of the strongest contenders for the top places.

Fenerbahce did win the most recent league meeting between the sides, prevailing 1-0 in April after Kerem Akturkoglu converted a 90th-minute penalty, but they have lost three of the last five competitive meetings against the visitors.

Indeed, the last eight competitive meetings between the clubs have produced no draws, making this an intriguing contest between two sides that are both on six points and in the top four, with both looking to end their respective league trophy droughts.

Besiktas also enter this full of confidence, having experienced a dramatic turnaround in the space of a week, bouncing back from consecutive 1-0 losses to Alanyaspor in the Super Lig and Kauno Zalgiris in Europe with a 6-2 thrashing of Corum at Tupras Stadyumu.

Dusan Vlahovic was the headline act, scoring a hat-trick as the Black Eagles finally produced the attacking performance their squad had promised, with Vaclav Cerny, Orkun Kokcu and Junior Olaitan also contributing to a six-goal display that saw the Istanbul side score four times in the second half.

However, the most impressive part of the visitors' game heading into this clash is their defensive numbers, having conceded only four goals in nine matches across all competitions, and although they have allowed all four across their last three matches, they have still largely limited their opposition, especially in the league.

Italiano's side have conceded three goals in the league while scoring seven, while they have produced the lowest xGA figure in the division at 1.31, showing that they are not simply riding their goalkeeper's form but have largely prevented opponents from creating high-quality opportunities.

In addition to that, Besiktas will head into this derby feeling confident of picking up a positive result, having already won at Fenerbahce three times in their last five visits across all competitions, including twice in their last four in the Super Lig.

Fenerbahce Turkish Super Lig form:

Fenerbahce form (all competitions):

Besiktas Turkish Super Lig form:

Besiktas form (all competitions):

Team News

Fenerbahce remain without several players, with Mert Hakan Yandas suspended, while Anderson Talisca, Kerem Akturkoglu, Marco Asensio, Caglar Soyuncu and Jayden Oosterwolde are also unavailable.

Talisca is expected back around mid-September, while Oosterwolde's Achilles problem is expected to keep him out until late October.

Kartal is therefore expected to retain the 4-2-3-1 system that has been used during the club's recent winning run, with N'Golo Kante and Matteo Guendouzi providing the midfield platform.

Mason Greenwood and Oguz Aydin should keep their places in the attacking three, with Irfan Can Kahveci expected to operate centrally behind Muriqi.

Besiktas currently have no major absences listed ahead of the derby, with Italiano expected to keep the 4-1-4-1 structure used in the latest league match, with Alexander Nubel behind Amir Murillo, Emmanuel Agbadou, Tiago Djalo and Rıdvan Yilmaz.

Salih Ozcan is the leading option at the base of midfield, allowing Cerny, Junior Olaitan, Kokcu and Leandro Trossard to operate further forward, while Vlahovic should retain his place after his hat-trick against Corum.

Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:

Ederson; Semedo, Skriniar, Ake, Brown; Guendouzi, Kante; Greenwood, Kahveci, Aydin; Muriqi

Besiktas possible starting lineup:

Nubel; Murillo, Agbadou, Djalo, Yilmaz; Ozcan; Cerny, Olaitan, Kokcu, Trossard; Vlahovic

We say: Fenerbahce 2-1 Besiktas

We expect the first half to be particularly cagey as both sides attempt to avoid giving the opposition the transition opportunities that could decide the derby.

However, Fenerbahce's greater volume of chance creation should eventually tell, although Besiktas have enough defensive organisation and attacking quality to keep the contest alive until the final stages.

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