Round 33 of the 2022-23 Super Lig season sees Galatasaray and Istanbul Basaksehir go head-to-head in a tantalising derby match-up at the Nef Stadium on Monday.
The hosts will be looking to bounce back from a defeat last time out, while the visitors set out to continue their upturn in form with a fourth consecutive win.
Match preview
© Reuters
Galatasaray were on the receiving end of a disappointing 3-1 loss against city rivals Besiktas in the sides' heavyweight meeting at Vodafone Park on Sunday evening.
Okan Buruk's men took the lead in the 20th minute through Mauro Icardi before goals from Romain Saiss, Amir Hadziahmetovic and Vincent Aboubakar turned the game on its head.
As a result, the Lions have now seen their lead at the top of the Turkish Super Lig table cut to two points, albeit with two games in hand on nearest challengers Besiktas.
On the menu next is the task of facing off against an opposing outfit who have only been victorious in one of the last seven editions of this fixture since 2020.
However, that solitary win did come in the most recent encounter in April when Monday's hosts fell to a 3-2 defeat after coming back from a goal down on two occasions.
© Reuters
Basaksehir put one foot in the final of the Turkish Cup thanks to a 1-0 first-leg victory over Ankaragucu at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium on Thursday.
Despite being on the back foot for large spells of the contest, Emre Belozoglu's men snatched a late victory in second-half stoppage time through Joao Figueiredo.
Prior to that, the Grey Owls claimed a 3-0 victory over Hatayspor to move up to fifth place in the standings with 51 points from their 30 matches to date.
Currently on a run of just one defeat in six away matches heading into Monday's affair, the visitors have proven themselves to be a real force to reckon with on the road of late.
Team News
Twenty-three-year-old Eden Karzev remains unavailable for Basaksehir through a muscle problem, which has seen him fail to feature since early March.
The away side will also be without the services of Patryk Szysz, who sustained a torn meniscus in the cup victory over Ankaragucu last time out.
Ahmed Touba was handed his marching orders in the early stages of the aforementioned game, but he is eligible to play a part in this weekend's contest.
Galatasaray's Mauro Icardi is definitely one to keep an eye on after the Argentine recently notched up his seventh goal in as many matches.
Emre Tasdemir has missed each of the last six games due to a muscle problem, but the defender is drawing increasingly closer to a return to action.
Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Muslera; Adekugbe, Bardakci, Nelsson, Boey; Torreira, Oliveira; Akturkoglu, Mertens, Rashica; Icardi
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Sengezer; Erkin, Duarte, Sahiner, Lima; Aleksic, Biglia; Januzaj, Ozcan, Gurler; Figueiredo
We say: Galatasaray 3-1 Istanbul Basaksehir
Galatasaray have been firing on all cylinders in front of their fans of late, netting 13 times across their last four home matches. We are tipping the hosts to come away with a routine win at the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Adepoju Marvellous
