Preview: Istanbul Basaksehir vs Rizespor - prediction, team news, lineups

Istanbul Basaksehir will continue their charge to claim one of the European spots when they clash with Caykur Rizespor on Saturday at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium in a gameweek 21 Super Lig fixture.

The hosts sit seven points adrift of Goztepe, who occupy the final European position, while Rizespor are 12th in the standings, four points above the relegation zone.

Match preview

Basaksehir continued their impressive run under Nuri Sahin with an emphatic 3-0 victory away to Kayserispor to continue their surge towards the top end of the standings last time out.

After a cagey start to the encounter, the Istanbul-based team broke the deadlock courtesy of a 35th-minute strike from Davie Selke, before two goals from Ramazan Civelek and Nuno Da Costa made sure of all three points in the second half.

That win extended their unbeaten run to six games (W4, D2), taking them to sixth in the standings and closer to their aspiration of returning to Europe next season.

Aside from their pursuit of European football, the hosts finished fifth last season, and they will be looking to surpass that in the current campaign.

Now back at home to face Rizespor, Sahin’s team will be confident of another successful outing, having been unbeaten in six fixtures (W3, D3) in front of their fans.

Nevertheless, the reverse fixture in October ended in a 0-0 draw, meaning the hosts have to be wary of the visitors, who are trying to steer clear of the drop zone.

Meanwhile, Rizespor’s struggle is nothing new, as they have failed to finish in the top five places in the previous two seasons.

Since their second-placed finish in the 2022-23 season, the Black Sea Sparrowhawks have continued to decline.

Currently 12th in the standings with 19 points, the away side are dangerously close to the relegation zone, and a defeat on Saturday could see them plunge further down the table.

With a solitary victory and a draw in their last six outings (L4) across all competitions, optimism has become rare among the supporters, and they will be following proceedings with bated breath on Saturday.

Away fixtures have also been problematic for Recep Ucar’s team, failing to win in their last five (D2, L3), with those losses recorded in their last three fixtures on the road.

Basaksehir Super Lig League form:

Basaksehir form (all competitions):

Caykur Rizespor Super Lig form:

Caykur Rizespor form (all competitions):

Team News

Not much is expected to change with the starting lineup of the hosts, with most players who started their last fixture in line to be involved from the start again.

The only injury concern for the hosts is Yusuf Sari, who has been on the sidelines since November.

Other than that, every other player in the squad is available for selection and raring to go for Saturday’s contest.

It is not the same situation for the visitors, as they are dealing with a number of injuries and suspension issues.

Khusniddin Alikulov is out with an unspecified injury, while Furkan Orak remains suspended due to a betting violation.

Giannis Papanikolaou is ineligible for this encounter, as he is currently serving a suspension as a result of a sending-off in a previous match.

Similarly, Modibo Sagnan will also sit out this fixture due to the accumulation of yellow cards.

Basaksehir possible starting lineup:

Sengezer; Operi, Opoku, Duarte, Sahiner; Gunes, Kemen; Harit, Shomurodov, Fayzullaev; Selke

Caykur Rizespor possible starting lineup:

Fofana; Sahin, Akaydin, Mocsi, Hojer; Antalyali; Bulut, Laci, Olawoyin ,Zeqiri; Sowe

We say: Basaksehir 3-0 Eyupspor

Basaksehir are playing well at the moment, and smart money should be on them to claim all three points with a convincing win against a team that are struggling at the moment. Therefore, we are backing Sahin’s team to win 3-0.

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