Fenerbahce play host to Kayserispor on Sunday looking for the win that will keep them on the coattails of leaders Galatasaray.
At a time when the home side sit in second position in the Super Lig table, Kayserispor are in 13th spot, albeit when they are currently one of the form teams in the division.
Match preview
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With Galatasaray's recent defeat to Besiktas, new life has been breathed into Fenerbahce's title challenge with the gap to the top now just three points.
Although Galatasaray would need to suffer another surprise defeat to make things interesting, Jose Mourinho's side have the momentum heading into the closing seven matches.
Fenerbahce have dropped just six points across a 15-game stint, winning 12 times and drawing on three occasions, while three victories have also been posted in a row.
Eleven goals have been netted against Bodrum FK, Trabzonspor and Sivasspor respectively, Mourinho still perhaps having concerns that no clean sheets were recorded during that triple-header.
Twelve wins have come from their 14 fixtures at the Şukru Saracoglu Stadium this campaign, albeit a goalless draw having recently been recorded against third-placed Samsunspor.
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While much of the attention will be on Fenerbahce ahead of this contest, the recent exploits of Kayserispor should not be ignored.
Alongside Fenerbahce and Istanbul Basaksehir, the visitors are the only other team to prevail from their last three fixtures in Turkey's top flight.
More impressively, the wins over Hatayspor, Adana Demirspor and Kasimpasa have featured eight goals and three clean sheets, emphasising the confidence that they will take into this encounter.
In the long run, though, just three victories have been posted in 14 away games. Furthermore, Sergej Jakirovic's team have only scored 12 goals.
Team News
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Mourinho must decide whether to revert to a back four or stick with the back three that proved to be effective at Sivasspor.
With each of the front trio in Dusan Tadic, Anderson Talisca and Edin Dzeko all chipping in with a goal or assist, retaining the latter appears more likely.
Oguz Aydin and Youssef En-Nesryi are both options for the final third if an extra man is required with a formation change.
Jakirovic will be forced into at least three changes to his Kayserispor starting lineup, partly due to Majid Hosseini's dismissal last time out.
Furthermore, Dimitrios Kolovetsios also serves a ban and Stephane Bahoken has suffered a serious Achilles injury. Julian Jeanvier, Arif Kocaman and Duckens Nazon are all in line to come into the team.
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Livakovic; Skriniar, Soyuncu, Muldur; Osayi-Samuel, Fred, Szymanski, Saint-Maximin; Tadic, Talisca; Dzeko
Kayserispor possible starting lineup:
Bayazit; Civelek, Jeanvier, Kocaman, Carole; Attamah, Yilmaz; Mane; Bourabia, Cardoso; Nazon
We say: Fenerbahce 3-1 Kayserispor
Regardless of how Galatasaray fare earlier in the weekend, this is a must-win for Fenerbahce. Mourinho's side will avoid any complacency due to the form of their opponents, leading us to predict a strong victory for the home team.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Darren Plant
