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

Kocaelispor and Istanbul Basaksehir will both be eager to end two-game winless streaks when they meet at the Yildiz Entegre Kocaeli Stadium on Monday evening in the Turkish Super Lig.

The hosts arrive after suffering consecutive league defeats, while the Europe-chasing Grey Owls have also seen their momentum stall slightly, recording a loss and a draw in their last two outings.

Match preview

Kocaelispor have lost 60% of their league matches in 2026, suffering six defeats in 10 games while managing only three wins and one draw, and this represents a sharp drop-off from the side that ended 2025 on an impressive eight-match unbeaten run across all competitions, during which they recorded five wins and three draws.

The Gulf side managed just one victory in four matches across all competitions last month, a narrow 1-0 win over Eyupspor, and that success has since been followed by a 2-1 home defeat against Konyaspor and a heavy 5-0 loss away to Alanyaspor just before the international break.

While that humbling defeat will have disappointed supporters, the broader perspective remains relatively positive, with Kocaelispor still sitting eighth in the league standings and are not involved in the relegation battle, while a top-seven finish remains a realistic objective.

For a club that spent 16 years away from the top flight before finally winning promotion last season, their position represents a remarkable achievement, as many expected them to spend the campaign battling to avoid relegation, yet they currently stand as the highest-ranked newly promoted team in the division.

Nevertheless, they must halt their recent slump starting with Monday’s clash, and returning home could provide some encouragement, as the Kocaeli side have collected 21 of their 33 league points at their own stadium.

However, recent home form has been worrying, with four defeats in their last five league matches at the venue, including losses in their two most recent games there.

For Basaksehir, this fixture also offers an opportunity to avoid a run of three consecutive matches without victory, as the Grey Owls suffered a 3-0 defeat to league leaders Galatasaray and were then held to a goalless draw by Antalyaspor before the break.

Before that brief dip, Basaksehir had been one of the most in-form teams in the league – over the last 10 league matches, only the top four sides in the standings have collected more points than their total of 21.

After a slow start to the season, the Istanbul club have gradually climbed into genuine contention for European qualification, as Nuri Sahin’s side now occupy fifth place in the table, nine points behind fourth-placed Besiktas.

They will approach this game with confidence, particularly given their strong historical record in this fixture, with Basaksehir having not lost to Kocaelispor since 2004, facing them eight times in competitive matches since then, winning five of those encounters, including a 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture earlier this season.

Kocaelispor Turkish Super Lig form:

Kocaelispor form (all competitions):

Istanbul Basaksehir Turkish Super Lig form:

Istanbul Basaksehir form (all competitions):

Team News

Kocaelispor remain without long-term absentee Mateusz Wieteska, who continues his recovery from the serious knee injury he sustained earlier in the season.

Goalkeeper Aleksandar Jovanovic is also sidelined with a knee problem, while Croatian striker Bruno Petkovic is recovering from a muscle injury.

However, there is some positive news for the hosts. Show and Ahmet Oguz are both available again after serving suspensions, while Mahamadou Susoho made his return from injury in the previous match.

Basaksehir could remain without defender Christopher Operi, who has missed the last two matches through injury and remains a doubt for Monday’s encounter.

Festy Ebosele, who was sent off after receiving a second yellow card in the defeat to Galatasaray and subsequently missed the following game, is now available again for selection.

Uzbekistan international Eldor Shomurodov has been one of the standout performers of the campaign, scoring 16 league goals so far, a tally that makes him Basaksehir’s leading scorer and leaves him five goals behind the league’s top scorer, although he will be aiming to end a five-match goal drought for the Grey Owls.

Kocaelispor possible starting lineup:

Degirmenci; Oguz, Dijksteel, Smolcic, Rivas; Keita, Show, Bingol; Churlinov, Agyei, Dursun

Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:

Sengezer; Sahiner, Duarte, Opoku, Karatas; Kemen, Gunes; Sari, Shomurodov, Brnic; Selke

We say: Kocaelispor 1-2 Istanbul Basaksehir

Kocaelispor deserve enormous credit for their season, and their home record earlier in the campaign showed they could be a formidable proposition.

However, the sheer quality of a Basaksehir side that has been firing on all cylinders over the past two months makes it very difficult to back the hosts here, making an away win looking the most likely outcome.

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