Turkey and the Faroe Islands kick off their UEFA Nations League campaign in Istanbul on Saturday evening looking to get off to a good start in Group C1.
Both countries have changed leagues from the 2020-21 edition, with the hosts dropping down from League B and the visitors earning promotion from League D.
Match preview
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Turkey will be hoping that the upcoming internationals in June can kickstart a new era following a disappointing last 12 months.
Stefan Kuntz's side were labelled as one of the dark horses of the 2020 European Championships last summer, but put in three hugely disappointing displays to exit the tournament bottom of Group A after scoring just one goal and losing all three matches at the delayed tournament.
Following on from there, Turkey enjoyed a successful qualification campaign for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar later this year, earning a playoff spot following a second-placed finish in Group G behind the Netherlands.
However, their World Cup dreams were ended by a 3-1 defeat to Portugal in the playoff semi-finals in Porto back in March, before losing to Euro 2020 winners Italy in an international friendly in their last outing just over two months ago.
As a result of a challenging last year or so, Turkey have dropped down to number 43 in the FIFA world rankings, whilst a disappointing return of just one win from their six games against Russia, Serbia and Hungary in Group B3 of the Nations League during 2020 saw them relegated to League C for this year's edition.
Saturday's encounter in Istanbul is the first of four Nations League fixtures between then and June 14, with ties against Lithuania and Luxembourg to follow, in which Kuntz's men will be expected to restore some pride and earn an immediate promotion back to the second tier.
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Meanwhile, despite being ranked 81 places below their hosts in the FIFA world rankings, the Faroe Islands head to Istanbul as their equals in terms of Nations League standings.
Hakan Ericson's side may have endured a difficult qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup in Group F, in which they recorded just four points against Moldova, Austria, Israel, Scotland and Denmark, but they head into this encounter looking to pick up from where they left off in the 2020-21 Nations League.
Landsliðið enjoyed an unbeaten campaign in Group D1 against Malta, Latvia and Andorra, which earned them an impressive promotion to face off against Turkey, Lithuania and Luxembourg over the coming weeks and months.
The visitors will not be expected to pick up a result in Istanbul on Saturday, nor will they be expected to top the group to earn successive promotions, but Ericson's side will certainly fancy their chances in taking points off their other two opponents in Group D1 in order to preserve their status in the third tier.
The Faroes will therefore be likely to come away empty-handed this weekend, but with back-to-back home ties with Luxembourg and Lithuania to follow, and a trip to the former to end the quartet of internationals in June, Ericson will be expecting his side to continue their fine Nations League run over the coming two weeks.
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Team News
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Turkey will be without the services of veteran striker Burak Yilmaz for Saturday and beyond, with the 36-year-old having retired from international football following the playoff defeat to Portugal back in March.
Having been named in the 27-man squad initially, Umut Bozok has been been forced to withdraw from the squad for the upcoming quartet of fixtures due to injury.
Premier League defenders Caglar Soyuncu and Ozan Kabak should be part of a back three alongside Atalanta central defender Merih Demiral, whilst Inter Milan midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu should dictate proceedings from the middle of the pitch.
In the absence of Yilmaz in attack, Enes Unal should lead the line after netting an impressive return of 16 goals and one assist in 37 La Liga appearances for Getafe during the 2021-22 campaign.
As for the visitors, Ericson is likely to opt for a defensive 5-4-1 setup in Istanbul, as he has done in many of his side's previous daunting away trips.
Captain Hallur Hansson could be partnered with the experienced Solvi Vatnhamar in the engine room in midfield, with the duo possessing 126 caps between them.
Striker Klaemint Olsen has 44 appearances for his country to his name, and his 10 goals for the Faroe Islands is the nation's joint record, along with the retired Rogvi Jacobsen.
Turkey possible starting lineup:
Cakir; Kabak, Demiral, Soyuncu; Celik, Ozcan, Calhanoglu, R Yilmaz; Under, Akturkoglu; Unal
Faroe Islands possible starting lineup:
Nielsen; Joensen, Faero, Askham, Nattestad, Davidsen; Agnarsson, S Vatnhamar, Hansson, Bjartalio; Olsen
We say: Turkey 3-0 Faroe Islands
On paper, this looks to be a routine victory for Turkey against the minnows from the Faroe Islands.
The hosts may have endured a disappointing last 12 months, but they should possess a far superior quality on the day in Istanbul and should cruise to a comfortable victory by a relatively wide margin.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
