Preview: Fenerbahce vs. Hatayspor - prediction, team news, lineups

Fenerbahce are undoubted favourites to get the amended of managerless Hatayspor successful Sunday's Super Lig gameweek 18 clash astatine Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.

Jose Mourinho's men person won 4 consecutive league location games and are searching for a 5th triumph connected the trot successful beforehand of their fans against their second-bottom opponents.

Match preview

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Despite uncovering immoderate signifier heading into December, past twelvemonth ended disappointingly for Mourinho's side, who dropped points successful 2 of their concluding 3 Super Lig games.

The Istanbul outfit were beaten by rivals Besiktas (1-0) astatine the commencement of past period and slipped up successful their last lucifer astatine Eyupspor (1-1), frankincense falling 8 points adrift of table-topping Galatasaray.

While they clasp a six-point vantage implicit Samsunspor successful third, the Istanbul outfit could chopped Gala's pb atop the standings if the defending league champions neglect to triumph a 4th league fixture connected the trot.

Although the Yellow Canaries ended the erstwhile twelvemonth with 1 triumph successful 3 matches, the location enactment should beryllium optimistic astir returning to winning ways, having claimed 4 consecutive victories astatine Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.

Fenerbahce's lone dropped points astatine their stomping crushed successful 7 matches came against league-leading Galatasaray successful September, highlighting the Yellow-Navy Blues' dominance successful beforehand of their fans.

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While Sari Kanaryalar are favourites to assertion a seventh triumph successful 8 location games, the second-placed outfit volition beryllium wary of coming unstuck against a broadside without a imperishable caput manager aft Riza Calimbay's December departure.

Yilmaz Bal and Gokhan Alas volition instrumentality complaint of the broadside for this weekend's travel to Istanbul, aiming to drawback Mourinho's troops retired with the constituent of surprise.

The Star of the South are winless successful 5 top-flight games since their 3-1 triumph implicit Gaziantep connected November 9, their sole occurrence pursuing 10 fixtures without maximum points this term.

Without 3 points for 2 months, the division's second-bottom nine person accrued 9 points from 16 matches, leaving them with the fewest wins and 10 points from safety.

Even the astir optimistic Hatayspor instrumentality volition uncertainty the club's endurance prospects, though the run not being astatine its halfway constituent offers a glimmer of anticipation if Guneyin Yildizi onslaught golden with their adjacent appointment.

Notwithstanding, the club's adjacent brag volition person to enactment retired however to get the league's second-lowest scorers (14 goals) to flourish successful the attacking 3rd and find ways for the fourth-worst defence (27 goals conceded) to support opponents out.

Fenerbahce Turkish Super Lig form:

Fenerbahce signifier (all competitions):

Hatayspor Turkish Super Lig form:

Team News

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While Mert Hakan Yandas's information is uncertain, Mourinho is not anticipated to person Dominik Livakovic and Oguz Aydin (muscle complaints) disposable until mid-January; however, Jayden Oosterwolde and Rodrigo Becao are semipermanent absentees with terrible genu injuries.

Although Edin Dzeko leads the mode for goals (nine), teammates Dusan Tadic (seven) and Youssef En-Nesyri person each netted 2 game-clinching strikes, 2 down league-leading Eyupspor antheral Mame Thiam, highlighting their penchant for taking responsibility.

Bal and Alas person enactment headaches for the distant broadside this weekend, with Cengiz Demir, Gorkem Saglam, Joelson Fernandes, Burak Yilmaz and Francisco Calvo missing done suspension, and Jonathan Okoronkwo absent owed to injury.

With Saglam and Fernandes, scorers of 2 goals apiece, missing, lone Vincent Aboubakar and Carlos Strandberg (three apiece) person netted much than doubly for 1 of the competition's slightest prolific clubs, who are shorn of imaginable game-changers this weekend.

Fenerbahce imaginable starting lineup:
Egribayat; Osayi-Samuel, Soyuncu, Djiku, Kostic; Amrabat, Fred; Kahveci, Tadic, Saint-Maximin; En-Nesyri

We say: Fenerbahce 3-0 Hatayspor

Hatayspor are winless successful distant Super Lig games since January 2024, and that miserable tally should proceed against 1 of the strongest location sides connected Sunday.

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