Two sides in the Turkish Super Lig relegation zone will face off on Saturday when Giresunspor welcome Istanbulspor to the Cotanak Stadium.
The hosts are winless in their last eight league games, while Istanbulspor have lost all of their previous four matches.
We say: Giresunspor 1-1 Istanbulspor
With both sides finding victories hard to come by, we think a cagey contest could result in a draw that would end Istanbulspor’s losing run.
Our tipster partners are predicting over 2.5 goals.
The visitors, meanwhile, have the chance to claim consecutive victories after thrashing Umraniyespor 5-2 last weekend.
We say: Galatasaray 2-1 Besiktas
After winning four of the last five home meetings with Besiktas, we think that Galatasaray will edge out their rivals to claim the derby bragging rights.
After winning three and drawing one of their last four competitive home games, Galatasaray will certainly be confident of picking up all three points on Saturday.
They will also take inspiration from the fact that they have the third-best defensive record in the league after conceding only nine goals in their games.
Meanwhile, Besiktas sit one place ahead of Galatasaray and they will attempt to move four points clear of their rivals with a victory on Saturday.
Senol Gunes has recently returned for a second spell as Besiktas head coach after replacing Valerien Ismael, who was sacked following a 2-1 defeat to Hatayspor.
The new boss began his latest stint at the club in impressive fashion, guiding his side to a commanding 5-2 win over Umraniyespor, thanks to Cenk Tosun and Wout Weghorst who both scored two goals apeice, while Tayyib Sanuc also got on the scoresheet.
Despite coming off the bench to score last weekend, Mata is unlikely to be given a place in the starting lineup, with Buruk expected to keep changes to a minimum.
As for the visitors, they are expected to be without the services of Atiba Hutchinson and Rachid Ghezzal due to injury issues.
After coming off the bench at half time against Umraniyespor, Nathan Redmond could be brought into the starting lineup to replace Dele Alli.
Weghorst has top-scored for Besiktas with six league goals this season, and the Dutchman will look to add to his tally when he leads the line on Saturday.
Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Muslera; Boey, Bayram, Nelsson, Tasdemir; Oliveira, Torreira; Rashica, Mertens, Akturkoglu; Icardi
Besiktas possible starting lineup:
Gunok; Rosier, Sanuc, Saiss, Masuaku; Ucan, Souza, Fernandez; Tosun, Redmond, Weghorst
În aceste condiţii, antrenorul lui „Cim-Bom”, fostul jucător legendar al echipei Okan Buruk (şapte titluri, patru cupe, Cupa UEFA şi Supercupa Europei), are o misiune aproape imposibilă, mai ales că în stagiunea precedentă Galatasaray a terminat campionatul pe un dezamăgitor loc 13 (din 20).
Beşiktaş ocupă locul 4, cu 22 de puncte din 12 meciuri (sunt 19 echipe în actuala ediţie din Super Lig, în fiecare etapă o echipă nu joacă), după ce în campionatul trecut a terminat pe locul 6.
Din 28 octombrie, după demiterea francezului Valerien Ismael, echipa este pregătită de Şenol Guneş, selecţionerul cu care Turcia a terminat pe locul 3 la CM 2002 din Japonia şi Coreea de Sud şi antrenorul cu care „vulturii” au câştigat două titluri, în 2016 şi 2017.
Beşiktaş a ales să mizeze în această stagiune pe jucători „căliţi” în Premier League, astfel că a transferat nume importante ca Wout Weghorst, Cenk Tosun, Dele Alli, Gedson Fernandes şi Arthur Masuaku.