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

Fenerbahce host Konyaspor at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on Saturday in the second round of the 2026-27 Turkish Super Lig season, with Ismail Kartal's side desperate to respond after a shock defeat on the opening weekend.

The Yellow Canaries head into the match after a bruising week that saw them lose domestically before drawing in the Champions League, while the visitors arrive in Istanbul having also suffered defeat on matchday one, albeit in considerably less dramatic circumstances.

Match preview

Fenerbahce endured a shocking start to the campaign, losing 2-1 away to Genclerbirligi despite Anderson Talisca giving them an early lead, as goals from Franco Tongya and Oguzcan Ulgun turned the game around in Ankara and left the Yellow Canaries empty-handed.

The result immediately piled pressure on Kartal, with Turkish media questioning his methods after just one league game, and the head coach had little time to dwell on the defeat, with the Istanbul side facing Lyon in the first leg of their Champions League playoff tie just days later.

Fenerbahce were unable to find a winner against the French side, with Mason Greenwood cancelling out Lois Openda's opener to secure a 1-1 draw and leave the tie finely balanced ahead of next week's second leg in France.

The congested schedule has already stretched Kartal's squad, while high-profile summer signing Romelu Lukaku is still waiting for his first major impact after coming on too late to influence the draw with Lyon.

With plenty of individual quality at his disposal but cohesion still developing, Kartal will be desperate for a response from his players on Saturday, and victory would go some way towards calming the early nerves around the club.

Fenerbahce can also draw confidence from their recent record in this fixture, having gone unbeaten in their last seven league meetings with Saturday’s visitors, winning six and drawing one.

Konyaspor, meanwhile, were unfortunate to leave the opening weekend empty-handed after defending resolutely against an attacking Rizespor side.

Ilhan Palut's team looked set to secure a valuable point before Qazim Laci converted a penalty in the seventh minute of stoppage time to give Rizespor a dramatic 1-0 victory.

Palut has acknowledged that his side were disrupted during pre-season, with several key players missing between one and two weeks of preparation through injury, while the Konyaspor boss believes that lack of continuity could prevent his side from finding their best rhythm early in the campaign.

Speaking ahead of the trip to Istanbul, he admitted that Fenerbahce represent an extremely difficult opponent but insisted his players will compete fully, while he also revealed that the club remain keen to add another quality winger before the transfer window closes.

However, Konyaspor's away record against the Super Lig's traditional powerhouses last season offers little encouragement, having lost all three away matches against Fenerbahce, Trabzonspor and Galatasaray, highlighting the scale of the task awaiting them on Saturday.

Fenerbahce Turkish Super Lig form:

Fenerbahce form (all competitions):

Konyaspor Turkish Super Lig form:

Team News

Fenerbahce remain without Jayden Oosterwolde, who continues to recover from an Achilles tendon injury, while Mert Gunok is sidelined with a muscle problem, while Caglar Soyuncu is also racing to recover in time for the fixture.

Lukaku could be handed his full debut, potentially replacing fellow summer arrival Vedat Muriqi in attack, with Kartal expected to rotate his squad following the midweek Champions League exertions.

Talisca remains one of the few bright spots in Fenerbahce's difficult start, as the Brazilian had scored in five consecutive appearances before the Lyon game and should retain his role behind the central striker.

Konyaspor have no fresh injury concerns, allowing Palut to consider retaining the XI that started against Rizespor, with new signing Chidozie Awaziem expected to continue in central defence alongside Adil Demirbag.

Emir Bars could also return to the starting lineup on the left side of the attack after replacing Ebrima Colley just after the hour mark last weekend, as his directness could prove useful against a Fenerbahce defence that has shown vulnerabilities in both of its competitive matches this season.

Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:

Ederson; Muldur, Skriniar, Ake, Brown; Guendouzi, Kante; Akturkoglu, Talisca, Greenwood; Lukaku

Konyaspor possible starting lineup:

Ertas; Yazgili, Awaziem, Demirbag, Andzouana; Jevtovic, Ibrahimoglu; Bars, Goncalves, Turuc; Muleka

We say: Fenerbahce 2-0 Konyaspor

Fenerbahce's superior individual quality and home advantage should be enough to correct course after a difficult opening week, even with the fatigue created by their congested European schedule.

Konyaspor showed defensive resilience against Rizespor, but Fenerbahce possess considerably more attacking quality and should create enough opportunities to break through.

We expect Kartal's side to respond in front of their own supporters, with Talisca or one of the club's attacking recruits finding the net as Fenerbahce claim their first Super Lig victory of the season.

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