Turkish Super Lig 2022-23: Besiktas vs Galatasaray: Predicted Lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

This is the standout fixtures in Turkish football

One of the standout fixtures in Turkish football will take place in Istanbul on Sunday, as Besiktas welcome Galatasaray to Vodafone Park. The hosts have only lost once in the league in 2023, while the visitors are currently six points clear at the summit of the Turkish Lig table.

After their five-game winning run was halted against reigning champions Trabzonspor, Senol Gunes' side got back to winning ways with a 2-0 victory last weekend against Umraniyespor, courtesy of strikes from Nathan Redmond and Vincent Aboubakar. Mert Gunok capped off another strong defensive display for the Black Eagles by ensuring his side kept a clean sheet. In fact, Besiktas have only conceded 28 goals in 30 matches, which is the second-best defensive record in the league.

As for the Galatasaray, they are currently sat at the summit of the Turkish Super Lig and are bidding to lift the title for the first time since 2019 despite surviving a scare in a six-goal thriller against Fatih Kagumruk last weekend. A brace from Fabio Borini almost saw the visitors snatch all three points, but Galatasaray's resilience ensured they maintained their position at the top of the table.

No team has won Turkey's primary division as many times as Galatasaray's impressive tally of 22, with their fiercest rivals Fenerbahce three behind them. Okan Buruk's side currently has a six-point gap over second-placed Fenerbahce with seven games to go. With this weekend's opponents eight points behind the league leaders having played a game more, it looks to be a straight shootout between Galatasaray and the Yellow Canaries for the title this season.

Kick-Off:

Sunday, 30-04-2023,9:30PM(IST)

Sunday, 30-04-2023,4:00PM(GMT)

Besiktas Form(All Competitions): W-W-W-W-D-W

Galatasaray Form(All Competitions): W-L-W-W-W-D

Players to Watch Out

Besiktas: Vincent Aboubakar

The Cameroonian International is known for his finishing and goal-scoring records and currently, he is in good form. In 11 matches till now he has already scored 7 goals. Inside the box he is very clinical with his finishing, this is his third stint with Besiktas, he very well knows the club and what the club expects from him and he is a threat to the opposition without a doubt.

Galatasaray: Mauro Icardi

Icardi is a man who is always surrounded by controversy but the Argentinian is in red-hot form and scoring some amazing goals for his team. He is a poacher who likes to make runs behind the defensive line and is deadly inside the penalty area. The striker likes to position himself centrally for most parts of the game and seldom deviates towards wider areas. Besiktas nedd to make a plan to stip the threat of Icardi.

Match Facts

Beşiktaş has kept 3 clean sheets in the last 5 games, conceding 3 goals during this period. Overall this season, their defence has kept a clean sheet on 11 occasions.

Galatasaray have scored in the last 9 games they have played on the road. 

In the last 5 matches, 3 of those games have ended with both teams scoring.

Injury and Team news

Tayyib Talha Sanuc will be sidelined for this match, as he is expected to miss the rest of the campaign with a knee injury, while out-of-favour loanee Dele Alli has returned to Everton after undergoing hip surgery last week. Gedson Fernandes will retain his place in the engine room after the Portuguese midfielder returned to the starting lineup against Umraniyespor after not being included in the matchday squad against Hatayspo.

As for the visitors, Baris Yilmaz will return to the matchday squad after serving a one-game suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards against Fatih Kagumruk.

Head-to-Head Stats

Matches: 29

Besiktas: 17

Galatasaray: 8

Draws: 4

Predicted Lineups

Besiktas Predicted Lineups (4-2-3-1):

Gunok; Rosier, Saiss, Colley, Masuaku; Fernandes, Ucan; Ghezzal, Redmond, Tosun; Aboubakar

Galatasaray Predicted Lineup (4-3-3):

Muslera; Boey, Nelsson, Bardakci, Adekugbe; Oliveira, Torreira; Rashica, Mertens, Akturkoglu; Icardi

Match Prediction for Besiktas vs Galatasaray

Despite having the best away record in the division, Galatasaray may have their work cut out for them here against a defensively-strong Besiktas side that have only conceded one goal in their last five games.

Galatasaray certainly have the firepower to win this match, but we think the Black Eagles will be resilient enough to earn themselves a point.

Prediction: Besiktas 1-1 Galatasaray

Telecast

India: No Telecast

UK: beIN Sports

USA: beIN Sports

Nigeria: No telecast