Istanbul Basaksehir welcome relegation-doomed Umraniyespor to the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
With the end of the Turkish Super Lig season in sight, Umraniyespor sit eight points inside the bottom four, while Basaksehir find themselves fifth in the standings.
Match preview
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It would not be unfair to say that Istanbul Basaksehir have endured a below-par campaign up to now, as the 2019-20 Super Lig champions sit 17 points shy of the European places with only a handful of games remaining.
In fact, six teams have suffered fewer defeats than Emre Belozoglu's men this season, while eight sides have scored more goals than Basaksehir's 44 in 31 matches.
It is worth noting, however, that Basaksehir have one foot in the Turkish Cup final thanks to a 1-0 victory in the first leg of their semi-final showdown with Ankaragucu, although the Grey Owls swiftly returned to losing ways last time out.
Following back-to-back defeats against Istanbulspor and Fenerbahce last month, Basaksehir suffered a 1-0 loss at Galatasaray in their previous outing, helping Okan Buruk's side move closer to the title.
Having enjoyed plenty of success on home soil this term – winning 10 of their 15 league matches at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium – Istanbul Basaksehir will be hopeful of giving their fans something to cheer about on Wednesday.
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Sadly, Umraniyespor's maiden Super Lig campaign looks destined to end in failure, as they find themselves eight points from safety after suffering 17 defeats in 31 league outings this season.
Although Mustafa Er's side ended a four-game losing run with an impressive 4-1 victory over Sivasspor last time out – thanks largely to a hat-trick from Umut Nayir – Umraniyespor have almost run out of time to spark a revival.
The Umraniye outfit have managed to win just three of their previous 14 league encounters, and one of those victories was an awarded 3-0 win against withdrawn club Gaziantep.
Not only have Umraniyespor lost each of their last three away matches, but they have also lost five of their previous seven, picking up a solitary away victory over Trabzonspor since January.
Sure, Umraniyespor will take confidence from their recent thrashing of Sivasspor, but Er's men have already suffered a 3-1 defeat to Istanbul Basaksehir this term, so they will struggle to improve on that result away from home.
Team News
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Istanbul Basaksehir are still without long-term absentee Eden Karzev as the Israeli midfielder continues to recover from a muscle injury.
Polish winger Patryk Szysz has joined Karzev on Basaksehir's injury list after picking up a meniscus problem, having bagged six goals and five assists across all competitions this season.
Brazilian forward Joao Figueiredo will continue to lead the line for the hosts, with Serdar Gurler, Danijel Aleksic and Deniz Turuc expected to offer attacking support to the lone striker.
As for Umraniyespor, they are currently without injured left-backs Onur Atasayar and Ermir Lenjani, so Onur Ayik will continue to deputise in the backline.
Defensive midfielder Kartal Yilmaz is also expected to miss Wednesday's clash due to injury, having been absent from the previous two matchday squads.
Olarenwaju Kayode is likely to join hat-trick hero Umut Nayir in attack, with Isaac Sackey and Serkan Goksu expected to anchor the midfield.
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Sengezer; Sahiner, Duarte, Touba, Lima; Biglia, Tekdemir; Turuc, Aleksic, Gurler; Figueiredo
Umraniyespor possible starting lineup:
Ozdemir; Ghorghe, Glumac, Epureanu, Ayik; Geraldo, Sackey, Goksu, Sekidika; Nayir Kayode
We say: Istanbul Basaksehir 3-1 Umraniyespor
Having lost just five of their 24 home games this season, Istanbul Basaksehir are expected to get the better of Umraniyespor, who look set to suffer a fifth defeat in six outings on their way to relegation.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Morris
