Title challengers Istanbul Basaksehir and Adana Demirspor come face-to-face in one of the most highly-anticipated matches in this week's round of Turkish Super Lig fixtures.
Emre Belozoglu's side lead the Blue Lightnings by only a solitary point going into Monday's encounter at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium.
Match preview
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Heading into the latest set of matches in the top tier of Turkish football, Basaksehir currently sit in third position following an imposing accumulation of nine victories from 16 games this season.
The Grey Owls have constantly been on the coat-tails of Turkish football powerhouses Galatasaray and Fenerbahce throughout the first half of the season, trailing the former by only eight points after The Lions' 3-0 defeat against Jorge Jesus's unrelenting outfit this afternoon.
In pursuit of an eighth appearance in a UEFA-organised competition across the last nine seasons, ominously for Adana Demirspor, Belozoglu's side possesses the third-most formidable home record in the Super Lig, after picking up 19 points from a possible 27 on offer.
Hoping to build upon their 2-0 victory over Antalyaspor on December 27, after second-half strikes from midfielder maestros Deniz Turuc and Danijel Aleksic, The Grey Owls were then held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Gaziantep nine days later.
After their recent disappointment, the hosts hope to return to winning ways on Monday to keep their aspirations of a second domestic title in the last four seasons alive.
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Led by legendary Italian striker Vincenzo Montella, Adana Demirspor have been one of the surprise packages of the current campaign in their second season back among the best Turkish football has to offer since 1995.
Registering one fewer league victory than Basaksehir this season - 8 - The Blue Lightnings have been impressive on their Super Lig travels, with only three sides possessing a better record on the road.
In pursuit of a first-ever appearance in Europe, Montella's side suffered a blow in their final match of 2022, as on-loan West Ham United defender Arthur Masuaku's strike in the first half handed Besiktas all three points at Vodafone Park.
However, The Blue Lightnings regained their position at the head of the continental qualification race following a 6-0 home demolition job of basement boys Istanbulspor on Thursday.
On the back of a 2-1 victory in the last encounter between the two sides in May last year, the visitors will make their journey to Istanbul on Monday full of confidence in registering successive victories.
Team News
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Despite dropping two points in their last league outing, it is unlikely that Emre Belozoglu will want to make many alterations to his opening gambit at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium.
With no standout goalscorers in Istanbul Basaksehir's ranks this season, with midfielder duo Youssouf Ndayishimiye and Danijel Aleksic the hosts' joint-top scorers in the league, both players are again expected to begin the contest as part of Belozoglu's starting XI.
After taking no footballing prisoners against relegation-threatened Istanbulspor, Adana Demirspor manager Vincenzo Montella is unlikely to make any changes, unless enforced, to his starting lineup.
Sharing The Blue Lightnings' Super Lig goalscoring charts with six goals apiece, Younes Belhanda and Henry Onyekuru will again spearhead the Demirspor attack alongside Norwegian striker Fredrik Gulbrandsen.
Expect not to see many amendments at the other end of the field, too, for the visitors, with Jonas Svensson, Jovan Manev, Semih Guler and Kevin Rodrigues all expected to take their place in a familiar-looking back four.
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Babacan; Sahiner, Duarte, Touba, Lima; Ndayishimiye, Turuc, Ozcan; Aleksic, Gurler; Okaka
Adana Demirspor possible starting lineup:
Ozbir; Svensson, Manev, Guler, Rodrigues; Sari, Inler, Ndiaye; Onyekuru, Belhanda, Gulbrandsen
We say: Istanbul Basaksehir 2-2 Adana Demirspor
With Istanbul Basaksehir and Adana Demirspor occupying third and fourth position in the Super Lig standings, we see both sides finding the back of the net on multiple occasions but ultimately having to settle for a share of the spoils in an end-to-end encounter at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
