Fenerbahce vs Besiktas prediction for the first major derby in the 2017-18 Turkish Super Lig season on Saturday, 23 September 2017. Champions Besiktas are keen to maintain their winning form when they travel to Fenerbahce for one of the biggest rivalries in Turkish football. Read more in our detailed match preview, free betting tips and predictions.
Head-to-head History: Fenerbahce vs Besiktas
There are 148 official matches in a very rich history of matches between Fenerbahce and Besiktas. For the time being there are 122 Süper Lig matches, 20 Turkish Cup games and 6 more for the Turkish Super Cup. Overall balance gives a slight advantage to Fenerbahce who have 53 wins against 51 to Besiktas, while draws are 44.
The most recent derby was on 7 May 2017 and Besiktas missed a fine chance to win for the first time since September 2015, when defender Marcelo has scored an own goal in stoppage time to make final score at the “Vodafone Arena” 1:1.
Fenerbahce vs Besiktas Prediction and Betting Tips
It’s still too early to make some general conclusions but so far Besiktas is seriously challenged by another Istanbul rival in Galatasaray’s face. However, there are a few more teams on a short distance behind them (Göztepe, Kayserispor, Istanbul Basaksehir and Akhisar Belediyespor) – 3 points, while Fenerbahce can use their home advantage to push on and shorten the gap. Currently, before beginning of round six, The Yellow Canaries are on five points from their fierce rivals on top of the table and Aykut Kocaman will hope to reach the first home win for Fenerbahce since end of April.
Nabil Dirar was injured during last weekend’s success over Alanyaspor (1:4) and will be replaced by Alper Potuk. Dirar joins Robin van Persie in the injury list where we also find names of Martin Skrtel, Mehmet Topal, Mehmet Ekici, who are all doubts.
After four consecutive wins, including away victory vs Porto in the Champions League opening round, Besiktas heads to Fenerbahce with a clear purpose to earn another one. Senol Gunes must keep one in mind before an upcoming Champions League match vs RB Leipzig on Tuesday, but importance of these derbies is significant and we expect best possible XI for Besiktas.
Right-back Gokhan Gonul returned into training and can be an option, although he may need some time to fully regain match practice. Nevertheless, Adriano (if he is fit) and Necip Uysal are two decent options for his position, so this won’t be such an issue.
Besiktas seems to be in-form and with an experienced leader like Senol Gunes near the touch line, we expect another positive result for “The Black Eagles”. A draw at the enemy’s ground can surely be considered as a positive and we expect more cautious approach by Besiktas here, while pressure is over Fenerbahce who need to reduce the gap between them and their main Istanbul rivals. We place a medium stake on the away team and recommend betting on Besiktas with the Asian Handicap 0 (Draw No Bet) on their side.
Possible Lineups of Fenerbahce and Besiktas
Venue: “Ülker Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadyumu”, Istanbul.
Referee: Ali Palabiyik.
Fenerbahçe: Volkan Demirel – Mauricio Isla, Roman Neustädter, Luis Neto, Ismail Köybasi – Souza, Ozan Tufan – Alper Potuk, Giuliano, Mathieu Valbuena – Vicent Janssen. (4-2-3-1)
Beşiktaş: Fabri – Necip Uysal, Gary Medel, Pepe, Caner Erkin – Atiba Hutchinson, Oguzhan Özyakup – Ricardo Quaresma, Talisca, Ryan Babel – Cenk Tosun. (4-2-3-1)