Preview: Galatasaray vs Kasimpasa - prediction, team news, lineups

Galatasaray will look to respond to their heavy defeat at Trabzonspor when they host Kasimpasa in the Super Lig at RAMS Park on Friday.

The champions are second after six matches with 13 points, while the visitors have also made an unbeaten start to the campaign and sit eighth with 10 points.

Match preview

Galatasaray began their title defence with a 2-2 draw against Corum before following that result with four wins in their next five league matches, including victories over Erzurumspor, Goztepe, Istanbul Basaksehir and Kocaelispor.

However, that sequence came to an abrupt end in their most recent league outing, as Okan Buruk's side were beaten 4-0 by Trabzonspor, suffering their first defeat of the campaign and leaving them level on points with leaders Amed but behind on goal difference.

The defeat also exposed a defensive problem that has appeared more often this season than would normally be expected from the champions, with Galatasaray having conceded 10 goals in their opening six league matches.

They have nevertheless scored 13, with four of those goals coming in the 4-0 victory over Erzurumspor and three each in back-to-back wins against Goztepe and Basaksehir.

The trend continued during the international break when they played out a 3-3 friendly draw against Pendikspor, giving several players valuable minutes while the regular campaign was paused.

With the champions needing a strong response to their heavy defeat against Trabzonspor, they will hope to avoid consecutive losses in this fixture, having lost 1-0 the last time they faced Friday's opponents, ending a seven-match unbeaten streak in the fixture (W5, D2).

However, Kasimpasa will be a tough nut to crack, having quietly built one of the more consistent defensive records in the early weeks of the season, with only Kocaelispor (four) conceding fewer goals than them in the Super Lig this season.

The Apaches remain unbeaten after six matches with two wins and four draws, scoring seven times, with their latest league game ending in a goalless draw against Konyaspor just before the break.

That result extended a run in which Kasimpasa had already drawn with Istanbul Basaksehir and Amed Sportif, while they also collected away victories against Corum and Genclerbirligi.

Emre Belozoglu’s side also maintained their good form during the break, picking up a 2-1 victory over Fatih Karagumruk in a friendly.

The visitors have competed well against Galatasaray in recent times, winning one and losing one of their last four meetings, while drawing the other two.

However, they have lost three of their last four visits to RAMS Park, with their most recent trip ending in a 3-0 Galatasaray victory.

Galatasaray Turkish Super Lig form:

Galatasaray form (all competitions):

Kasimpasa Turkish Super Lig form:

Kasimpasa form (all competitions):

Team News

Galatasaray's injury picture has improved during the international break, although several players remain under assessment.

Mario Lemina has completed his treatment and returned fully to team training, while Roland Sallai and Wilfried Singo are still working separately, making them doubtful for Friday's encounter.

Perhaps their biggest miss, Victor Osimhen, has also resumed partial team training after his muscle injury, but club doctor Yener Ince said on Wednesday that Galatasaray do not want to risk the striker prematurely and will make a decision based on the results of his latest tests.

Lesley Ugochukwu is suspended for two games, while goalkeeper Gunay Guvenc has also been recovering from injury.

Kasimpasa will be without Kamil Corekci due to an Achilles tendon injury, while Mortadha Ben Ouanes and Haris Hajradinovic have also been listed among the injured.

Adrian Benedyczak is another confirmed absentee after suffering a wrist fracture, leaving the visitors with fewer established attacking options.

Galatasaray possible starting lineup:

Cakir; Sallai, Sanchez, Bardakci, Jakobs; Torreira, Sara; Sane, Akgun, Leao; Gul

Kasimpasa possible starting lineup:

Gianniotis; Winck, Mouanga, Ilie, Jessen; Da Silva, Demirbay; Yalcin, Rafferty, Kol; Diarra

We say: Galatasaray 2-1 Kasimpasa

Kasimpasa's unbeaten start and defensive record should make this a more demanding game for Galatasaray than the league positions might suggest, but the champions have home advantage and significantly greater attacking depth to narrowly win this.

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