Preview: Samsunspor vs Genclerbirligi - prediction, team news, lineups

Samsunspor and Genclerbirligi kick off their respective 2025-26 Turkish Super Lig campaigns as both teams square off at 19 Mayıs Stadium this weekend.

The hosts are looking to build on their impressive performance last term, while the visitors’ main aim will be survival, having just returned to the top flight this season.

Match preview

The 2024-25 campaign was an incredible one for Samsunspor, who achieved their highest finish in the top flight in about 38 years.

During that period, the team experienced turbulence and even dropped as low as the third tier at one point, but their upward trajectory saw the Red Lightning return to the Super Lig in 2023–24, finishing 13th, before coming third last term.

As a result, Thomas Reis’s men secured a spot in the Europa League playoff rounds, where they will face the winners from the clash between Panathinaikos and Shakhtar Donetsk in two weeks time.

While the immediate aim for Samsunspor will be to get their top-flight season to a perfect start, they head into this fixture with a mixed bag of results in their pre-season games, drawing one and losing two of their four such matches (W1).

Their most recent outing was a 1-0 win against French Ligue 2 side Dunkerque, which should offer a further lift to a team that recorded victory in four of their last five matches of the 2024-25 Super Lig campaign.

The Red Lightning recorded victory in 11 of their 18 league matches at 19 Mayıs last term, so home record is not a problem, especially facing a side they have beaten in their most recent two meetings.

Those two encounters came in the second division in 2022-23, and while Samsunspor secured promotion at the end of that campaign, Genclerbirligi had to wait another season.

Back in the top flight after a four-year absence, having finished second in the TFF 1. Lig, the Ankara club’s main aim this term will be to secure survival, so even a point this weekend would represent a solid start.

Huseyin Eroglu’s men enter this encounter off the back of a 2-1 victory against Ankaragucu, which was a better performance than their previous two pre-season encounters, where they lost against Fatih Karagumruk and Tractor.

However, the team have not suffered any defeat in a competitive match since March this year, during a span in which they played eight games (W6, D2), so Gerclerbirligi cannot be overlooked in this encounter.

Samsunspor form (all competitions):

Genclerbirligi form (all competitions):

Team News

After an impressive campaign, Samsunspor have kept a large part of their squad, though a few left, while the club also made good acquisitions to strengthen the team.

A notable mention of the departures is 28-year-old defensive midfielder Youssef Ait Bennasser who left on a free, but the team appears to have solved that void, bringing in Antoine Makoumbou from Cagliari.

Other arrivals include right-back Joe Mendes (from Braga), left-back Logi Tomasson from Stromsgodset and forward Anthony Musaba, while Samsunspor have already made permanent the loan deal of attacker Ercan Kara.

Musaba scored the decider last time out, so he could be the one to lead the line once again in Reis’s favoured 4-2-3-1 setup.

Key departures from the Genclerbiligi squad include 30-year-old midfielder Bugra Cagıran, winger Amilton and centre-back Sinan Osmanoglu, all of whom were regulars last term but have left on a free.

The Ankara club also did well to bring in some new players, including midfielder Ogulcan Ulgun and former Galatasaray attacker Henry Onyekuru.

Meanwhile, Metehan Mimaroglu will be highly relied upon in the final third this weekend, following an impressive campaign in the 2024-25 TFF Lig. 1, where he scored 14 goals.

Samsunspor possible starting lineup:

Kocuk; Tomasson, Satka, Tavru, Drongelen; Makoumbou, Yuksel; Mouandilmadji, Kilinc, Ntcham; Musaba

Genclerbirligi possible starting lineup:

Akkan; Altiparmak, Goutas, Zuzek, Hanousek; Etebo, Nalepa; Akbal, Uzum, Altiparmak; Mimaroglu

We say: Samsunspor 2-1 Genclerbirligi

Considering Samsunspor had an impressive campaign last term, they are favourites heading into this encounter, especially facing a newly promoted Genclerbirligi, who have not played top-flight football in a while.

There is also a solid home record to count on for the hosts, while they have also enjoyed success in recent meetings with Gencler, so all direction points in a win for the home side.

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