Galatasaray will be eager to win back their league title after a very poor campaign saw them finish sixth last term, and sit top of the table as they host Fenerbahce.
Fenerbahce also had a season to forget last term, slipping to seventh, and will be keen to make amends this year.
Match preview
© Reuters
Galatasaray appear to be back with a vengeance after their disappointing 2019-20 season and have won their first two games of the new campaign.
They beat Gaziantep 3-1 before brushing last season's champions Istanbul Basaksehir aside in a 2-0 victory away from home.
Now they host Fenerbahce as their tough run of fixtures at the start of the season continues, but with Radamel Falcao finding form, they seem an irresistible force.
A lack of goals cost Galatasaray last term, being outscored by no less than five teams, despite boasting the joint-second best defensive record behind the eventual champions.
They seem to have solved that problem, though, and have started the new campaign strongly as a result.
Fenerbahce's slump has lasted a little longer than Galatasaray's. They finished second in 2017-18, but have not made the top five since and will be keen not to allow their slide to drag into a third season.
Erol Bulut's side have made a decent start to the new campaign, winning 2-1 at Rizespor, but were held to a disappointing 0-0 draw at home by nine-man Hatayspor last time out.
It is not an encouraging result ahead of their daunting trip to face Galatasaray on Sunday, and Fenerbahce must play much better if they are to get anything from the game.
Galatasaray Turkish Super Lig form: WW
Galatasaray form (all competitions): WWWW
Fenerbahce Turkish Super Lig form: WD
Team News
© Reuters
Galatasaray boss Fatih Terim is without two players ahead of Fenerbahce's visit on Sunday, but has received an injury boost.
Marcelo Saracchi and Emre Akbaba are both set to be out until next month at least with a groin and back injury, respectively.
However, goalkeeper Fernando Muslera is back in training after a broken leg. It may still be too soon for him to feature, but he is close to recovering fully.
Fenerbahce head coach Bulut, on the other hand, has nearly a full complement to choose from.
Mehmet Ekici is a doubt, but his squad is otherwise fully-fit.
Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Ozturk; Elabdellaoui, Luyindama, Marcao, Linnes; Antalyali; Feghouli, Belhanda, Kilinc, Turan; Falcao
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Bayindir; Gonul, Jorgensen, Lemos, Erkin; Gustavo, Cigerci; Thiam, Tufan, Kadioglu; Valencia
We say: Galatasaray 0-0 Fenerbahce
Galatasaray are in fine form and certainly head into the game as favourites, but Fenerbahce will likely play for a point away from home and have succeeded in five of their last six meetings.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home Win:dataData Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Galatasaray win with a probability of 50.75%. A win for Fenerbahce had a probability of 24.99% and a draw had a probability of 24.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Galatasaray win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.46%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.62%) and 2-0 (8.75%). The likeliest Fenerbahce win was 0-1 (6.88%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.5%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 6.3% likelihood.
