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

Trabzonspor host Istanbul Basaksehir at Papara Park on Sunday in the second round of the Turkish Super Lig season, with the hosts looking to record their first win of the campaign.

Fatih Tekke's men were held to a 1-1 draw by Kasimpasa before suffering a narrow Europa League defeat in midweek, while the visitors began their league campaign with a comfortable victory over Kocaelispor.

Match preview

Trabzonspor were forced to settle for a point on the opening weekend, with Noah Saviolo giving them the lead against Kasimpasa before Adrian Benedyczak equalised from the penalty spot in the second half.

The result was particularly frustrating for Tekke's side because they had established a promising position after Saviolo's opener, but they were unable to turn their attacking pressure into a second goal.

Mohamed Salah was introduced in the 58th minute for his competitive debut and immediately added another dimension from the right, although Trabzonspor ultimately had to settle for a point.

Trabzonspor finished third in the Super Lig last season with 69 points from 34 matches, winning 20 of those games and scoring 61 goals, while their 39 goals conceded gave them the fourth-best defensive record in the division.

Their home record was also strong, with nine wins, six draws and only two defeats at Papara Park, leaving them with the third–best home record, which would make optimism for a win on Sunday quite high.

However, the Black Sea Storm come into this fixture after a physically demanding European night, having lost 1-0 to Ferencvaros at home on Thursday in the first leg of their Europa League playoff, conceding Kristoffer Zachariassen's 17th-minute header before being reduced to 10 men when Chibuike Nwaiwu was shown a straight red card in stoppage time.

Though there is plenty of encouragement in the recent head-to-head record with Basaksehir, unbeaten in their last eight meetings across all competitions while winning six of those games, while they are unbeaten in their last six meetings with them at Papara Park, winning two of the last five league meetings at home.

Basaksehir, meanwhile, made a much more convincing start to the new league campaign, defeating newly promoted Kocaelispor 2-0 at home.

Christopher Operi opened the scoring in the 14th minute before Eldor Shomurodov doubled the advantage in the 72nd minute, giving Nuri Sahin's side a controlled start to the season and three points without conceding.

The result was particularly welcome after a difficult European qualifying campaign in which Basaksehir were eliminated by Inter Turku, drawing 1-1 at home in the first leg before losing 2-0 in Finland.

Basaksehir also arrive with a strong platform from last season, when they finished fifth with 57 points, scoring 58 goals and conceding only 35, but the concern for Sahin is that Trabzonspor have repeatedly caused Basaksehir problems in this fixture.

Last season, the Black Sea side won 4-3 away in November, and the reverse fixture at Papara Park ended 1-1 in April, while they also eliminated the visitors from the Turkish Cup with a 4-2 victory in March.

Trabzonspor Turkish Super Lig form:

Trabzonspor form (all competitions):

Istanbul Basaksehir Turkish Super Lig form:

Istanbul Basaksehir form (all competitions):

Team News

Trabzonspor remain without Arseniy Batagov and Tim Jabol-Folcarelli, who are recovering from knee injuries, while Okay Yokuslu has also been dealing with a fitness issue and was not included in the Europa League squad.

Ernest Muci has been recovering from a hamstring problem but returned to the bench against Ferencvaros, so he could be an option for Tekke on Sunday.

Nwaiwu's European red card does not automatically rule him out of the domestic fixture, although his involvement will be something to monitor after he was dismissed against Ferencvaros.

Tekke also has to decide how much to rotate following Thursday's European game, with Salah having started that match after making his league debut from the bench against Kasimpasa.

Basaksehir have no major availability concerns reported ahead of the trip, with Sahin otherwise expected to keep faith with the 4-2-3-1 system used in the victory over Kocaelispor.

Shomurodov was central to their campaign, scoring 22 league goals, and he has already opened his account this season after converting his opportunity against Kocaelispor, making him the man to watch.

Trabzonspor possible starting lineup:

Onana; Pina, Ozkacar, Nwaiwu, Cabral; Bouchouari, Malinovskyi; Salah, Saviolo, Simsir; Onuachu

Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:

Sengezer; Sahiner, Bayram, Opoku, Operi; Kemen, Kaluzinski; Skov Olsen, Fayzullayev, Yildirim; Shomurodov

We say: Trabzonspor 2-1 Istanbul Basaksehir

Trabzonspor's home advantage, recent dominance of this fixture and the attacking options available to Tekke's side make them slight favourites despite their midweek European disappointment.

The visitors have already shown that they can be difficult to break down, while Shomurodov gives them a genuine threat in the final third, but the hosts will be pushed by their home fans and quality.

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