Sports Mole previews Sunday’s Turkish Super Lig clash between Galatasaray and Sivasspor, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Table-toppers Galatasaray will look to maintain their lead in the Turkish Super Lig title race when they host Sivasspor on Sunday evening at Rams Park.
The hosts have a four-point lead at the top of the table with four matches left and will edge closer to the title with a win here.
Match preview
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Galatasaray extended their winning run in the Super Lig to 15 matches with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Adana Demirspor at the New Adana Stadium last Friday.
Hakim Ziyech, Kerem Demirbay and Mauro Icardi all found the net for the Lions in the second half after a scoreless first half.
With four games remaining, Okan Buruk‘s side hold a four-point lead over their closest rivals, Fenerbahce, and will look to maintain or extend this lead by the end of this gameweek.
The Lions return to home soil on Sunday, looking to maintain their perfect home record, having won all 17 home matches so far this campaign.
A record of 16 wins, two draws and two defeats in 20 home games against Sunday’s opponents will leave them with a lot of confidence heading into this crucial game for their title defence.
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Sivasspor returned to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Konyaspor at the Yeni 4 Eylul Stadyumu last Saturday, courtesy of a late goal from Rey Manaj.
Consequently, Bulent Uygun‘s men climbed to ninth in the Turkish Super Lig table and are looking likely to secure a top-half finish this campaign.
With just one win in their last five away matches, the Braves’ away form has dipped this year and they will hope that it does not get worse when they face the best side in the league on Sunday.
However, they could draw inspiration from their win over Gala at Rams Park in 2022 as they look to have a say in the title race.
Galatasaray Turkish Super Lig form:
Sivasspor Turkish Super Lig form:
Team News
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The home side have a full squad ahead of Sunday’s clash as no injury or suspension has been reported.
Icardi took his tally to 21 goals last time out, becoming the outright top scorer in the Super Lig this season, and he will be looking to maintain this lead on Sunday.
The trio of Dries Mertens, Baris Yilmaz and Ziyech are expected to provide support for the striker once again.
The visitors will be without Hakan Arslan who continues to nurse a groin injury, but everyone else is available for selection.
Manaj, who is three goals away from being the top scorer in the Super Lig, will look to add to his tally when he leads the line.
Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Muslera; Kohn, Nelsson, Kutlu, Ayhan; Torreira, Demirbay; Ziyech, Mertens, Yilmaz; Icardi
Sivasspor possible starting lineup:
Vural; Okumus, Paluli, Poungouras, Appindangoye, Camara; Menig, Elmaz, Akdag, Bassan; Manaj
We say: Galatasaray 3-1 Sivasspor
Galatasaray are in hot form at the moment and they look unstoppable. They also have a solid home record against Sivasspor despite losing to them at the Rams Park in 2022. We expect this to be a comfortable victory for the hosts.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.