Preview: Trabzonspor vs Galatasaray - prediction, team news, lineups

Trabzonspor host Galatasaray at Papara Park on Saturday evening in one of the biggest fixtures of the Turkish Super Lig, with the reigning champions looking to maintain their unbeaten start and the hosts hoping to repeat April's famous victory over the Istanbul giants.

Cimbom sit top of the table with 13 points from their opening five matches, while the Black Sea hosts are ninth with seven points and are looking for a big win to settle the nerves following recent developments around the club.

Match preview

Trabzonspor enter this contest with a mixture of confidence and uncertainty after a turbulent few weeks, having parted company with Fatih Tekke following their Europa League elimination by Ferencvaros before appointing former player Huseyin Cimsir on an interim basis.

Cimsir made an immediate impact as the Black Sea Storm thrashed Genclerbirligi 5-0 in his first match, with Paul Onuachu scoring twice and Mohamed Salah continuing his impressive start to life in Turkey, but the momentum was checked by a 1-0 defeat away to Konyaspor last weekend.

That result leaves Trabzonspor with two wins, one draw and two defeats from their opening five league matches, with nine goals scored and five conceded, six points off the pace set by Saturday's visitors.

The hosts will hope to repeat the result from the last time this fixture was played, when they defeated Galatasaray 2-1 in April, with Onuachu opening the scoring after four minutes before Wilfried Singo equalised early in the second half and Chibuike Nwaiwu restored the Black Sea side's lead in the 62nd minute.

The result was significant at the time because Trabzonspor moved within one point of Galatasaray in the title race, although they eventually finished eight points behind the Lions, who went on to win the title, extending the Black Sea side's league-title drought to four seasons.

Galatasaray arrive chasing a fifth consecutive Super Lig title and have begun the new campaign with four wins and one draw, scoring 13 goals and conceding six to sit one point ahead of second-placed Besiktas.

Their latest league outing ended in a narrow 1-0 victory over Kocaelispor, with captain Abdulkerim Bardakci scoring the only goal in the 71st minute to secure a fourth straight league win.

After a 2-2 draw at home against newly promoted Corum on the openingweekend, Okan Buruk's side have responded with four consecutive league victories, although their unbeaten domestic start was interrupted in Europe by a 3-1 Champions League defeat away to Sporting CP.

Galatasaray will hope to conquer the atmosphere at Papara Park again after the defeat in April, as they had gone seven games without losing there across all competitions prior to that, recording four wins and three draws.

The Lions have won both of their away games in the Super Lig this season, scoring seven goals and conceding two in 4-0 and 3-2 victories over Erzurumspor and Istanbul Basaksehir respectively, but Saturday's clash will be their biggest test on the road yet.

Trabzonspor Turkish Super Lig form:

Trabzonspor form (all competitions):

Galatasaray Turkish Super Lig form:

Galatasaray form (all competitions):

Team News

Trabzonspor are expected to remain without Ruslan Malinovskyi, Okay Yokuslu, Tim Jabol-Folcarelli and Arseniy Batagov, while Noah Saviolo is also sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Cimsir is expected to retain the 4-2-3-1 system used in recent matches, with Fabinho and Ozan Tufan providing protection in midfield and Salah, Ernest Muci and Aral Simshir operating behind Onuachu if the striker is cleared to play.

Salah has already scored four league goals and provided an assist, while Simshir has created six big chances, giving the hosts threats from several different areas.

Yunus Akgun has also created six big chances in the Super Lig this season, while his 2.0 expected assists rank second in the division behind teammate Gabriel Sara's 2.1.

However, the absence of Victor Osimhen will be a blow for the visitors in a game of this magnitude, with the Nigerian striker suffering a groin injury during the victory over Basaksehir and subsequently missing the Champions League defeat to Sporting and the league win over Kocaelispor.

Galatasaray confirmed that Osimhen was receiving treatment for the injury, while current projections place his return towards the end of September.

Baris Alper Yilmaz and Deniz Gul have operated as the central striker in the two games without Osimhen, with Rafael Leao and Leroy Sane among the options to provide support from the wider areas.

Mario Lemina and Wilfried Singo are also sidelined, while goalkeeper Gunay Guvenc remains unavailable.

Trabzonspor possible starting lineup:

Onana; Pina, Nwaiwu, Savic, Eskihellac; Fabinho, Ozan Tufan; Salah, Muci, Simshir; Onuachu

Galatasaray possible starting lineup:

Cakir; Sallai, Sanchez, Bardakci, Ismail Jakobs; Torreira, Sara; Sane, Akgun, Leao; B.A Yilmaz

We say: Trabzonspor 1-1 Galatasaray

Galatasaray's unbeaten start makes them difficult to overlook, but the absence of Osimhen removes an important dimension from their attack and could make this considerably closer than the league table suggests.

Trabzonspor have already demonstrated against the visitors that they can turn Papara Park into a difficult venue for the champions, and the victory in April provides Cimsir's side with evidence that Galatasaray can be beaten in this fixture.

The hosts have also been solid at home this season, winning both games in front of their fans, but Galatasaray's strong away record should be enough to earn the visitors a share of the points.

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