Preview:Turkey vs Bulgaria - prediction, team news, lineups

Turkey will be bidding to keep their hopes of topping Group E alive when they continue their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign at home to Bulgaria on Saturday.

The hosts are second in the section, three points behind the leaders Spain, while they sit six points ahead of third-placed Georgia, with the away side at the bottom on zero points.

Match preview

Turkey have impressed in Group E, winning three of their four matches to collect nine points, and they are still in with a chance of finishing at the top of the section ahead of Spain.

Vincenzo Montella's side recorded two excellent wins in October, beating Bulgaria 6-1 and Georgia 4-1, but they did suffer a 6-0 defeat to Spain in September, with that result potentially being incredibly costly.

A win here would keep Turkey's hopes of finishing first alive, even if Spain beat Georgia on the same night, but an incredible swing in goal difference would have to occur in the final matchday when Turkey tackle Spain.

The Crescent-Stars will be confirmed in the top two if they avoid defeat or if Georgia fail to overcome Spain, and a playoff spot is the most likely outcome to their qualification campaign.

Turkey have not managed to qualify for the finals of a World Cup since 2002, but they have been present in each of the last three European Championship finals, reaching the quarter-finals of Euro 2024.

There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a difficult qualification campaign for Bulgaria, with the Lions losing all four of their Group E matches, scoring just once and conceding 16.

Aleksandar Dimitrov's side were beaten 3-0 by Spain and Georgia in their September fixtures before losing twice more in October, going down 6-1 at home to Turkey and 4-0 away to Spain.

Bulgaria cannot finish in the top two and only playing for pride in their final two matches in the section, but they could still have a big say when it comes to which teams do manage to claim first and second.

The Tricolours have not managed to qualify for the finals of a World Cup since 1998, while their last major tournament was Euro 2024, so it has been a difficult period for the national side.

Bulgaria have faced Turkey on 24 previous occasions, recording 10 wins in the process and suffering eight defeats, and each of the last three matches have been won by the Crescent-Stars.

Turkey World Cup Qualifying - Europe form:

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Turkey form (all competitions):

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Bulgaria World Cup Qualifying - Europe form:

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Bulgaria form (all competitions):

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Team News

Turkey's squad has been hit with three withdrawals due to injury problems, with Eren Elmali, Isak Vural and Ayberk Karapo unavailable for selection on Saturday.

Yunus Akgun is also a notable absentee through injury, but there will be plenty of recognisable names in the home side's XI, including Hakan Calhanoglu, Arda Guler and Kerem Akturkoglu.

Kenan Yildiz's future is currently the subject of much speculation, with Barcelona and Real Madrid both said to be keen on the Juventus attacker, and he is set to feature in the starting side.

As for Bulgaria, Anton Nedyalkov, Petko Hristov and Radoslav Kirilov have withdrawn from the squad, so the trio will not be involved in Saturday's 2026 World Cup qualification fixture.

Kiril Despodov is the captain, and the 29-year-old, who has an impressive 15 goals for his country, will feature in the final third of the field for the away side in this contest.

Marin Petkov could also come in for a start, while Martin Minchev is set to complete the front three; Stanislav Shopov is also set to be a notable starter in the middle of midfield here.

Turkey possible starting lineup:

Cakir; Muldur, Demiral, Bardakci, Akaydin; Calhanoglu, Yuksek; Yilmaz, Guler, Yildiz; Akturkoglu

Bulgaria possible starting lineup:

Mitov; Popov, Chernev, Bozhinov, Georgiev; Shopov, Krastev, Gruev; Petkov, Despodov, Minchev

We say: Turkey 3-0 Bulgaria

Turkey were excellent in their two October internationals, and we are finding it very difficult to back Bulgaria to pick up a positive result here. The home side have so much quality in the final third of the field and should be able to secure another three points.

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