Aiming to move within two points of top spot in the Turkish Super Lig table, Besiktas will travel to take on Antalyaspor on Saturday.

Thanks to three consecutive three-point hauls, the hosts sit two points behind second-placed Fenerbahce and five off leaders Galatasaray, while their hosts climbed to 12th spot with a win of their own at the weekend.

Match preview

After finishing seventh and level on points with Besiktas last season, Antalyaspor have experienced a tougher campaign in the Turkish Super Lig this time around, currently sitting 12th with 36 points on the board from 30 league outings.

That tally stood at just 29 after 26 matches, but Nuri Sahin's side now head into the weekend on the back of a more pleasing run of results, firstly beating Alanyaspor 3-1 thanks to goals from Dogukan Sinik, Alassane Ndao and Bertug Yildirim.

The victory was followed by a dramatic contest away at Istanbulspor, in which the Akrepler went behind on three separate occasions but eventually came away with a point as Haji Wright levelled the contest at 3-3 with his second of the match in the dying minutes, before they would suffer a 2-1 defeat at home to Sivasspor, with Sam Larsson's 48th-minute goal not enough to trigger a turnaround.

With the aim of bouncing back to winning ways, Sahin's men most recently travelled to take on Fatih Karagumruk on Saturday, and they succeeded in doing so, holding out for a 1-0 victory after Sinik netted the important goal inside the opening 25 minutes.

Such a result saw the Akrepler climb up to 12th spot in Turkey's top flight, and now just a point behind 11th-placed Sivasspor and two points outside of the top 10, they will hope to make it back-to-back wins and build a strong end to the campaign.

They welcome a Besiktas side who are searching for another important victory in their bid to regain the Super Lig title this term, having recently narrowed the gap to leaders Galatasaray.

In mid-April, with the league leaders nine points ahead of the Black Eagles with a game in hand, Besiktas' title hopes looked extremely slim, but the complexion of the battle has quickly changed, as they made up ground with a 2-0 beating of Umraniyespor, thanks to goals from Nathan Redmond and Vincent Aboubakar, while Galatasaray only managed a draw at home to Fatih Karagumruk.

The two sides would then meet in a crucial contest at the Vodafone Arena last weekend, and after Mauro Icardi put the visitors ahead in the first half, Senol Gunes's side drew level through Romain Saiss and went ahead on the hour mark thanks to Amir Hadziahmetovic's goal, before Aboubakar wrapped up a vital result with Besiktas' third in injury time.

Such a result reduced the gap between the two sides to five points, while they now sit just two points behind second-placed Fenerbahce, and although they have still played a game more than both sides, the Black Eagles will certainly be encouraged having stayed in and improved their standing in the title fight in recent weeks.

Having also picked up three points from a scheduled meeting with Hatayspor, who withdrew from the league earlier this year, prior to their two recent wins, Besiktas will now aim to make it four three-point hauls on the bounce with a chance to move second and heap more pressure on the league leaders.

Team News

Antalyaspor could come into Saturday's contest with an unchanged starting XI from their win over Fatih Karagumruk, and although Emrecan Uzunhan is vying to regain his place from the outset in defence, Sahin should again go with the centre-back pairing of Omer Toprak and Veysel Sari after their clean sheet.

At the other end of the pitch, Haji Wright will again lead the line in a 4-2-3-1 setup, having netted 15 goals in 24 Super Lig appearances so far this term.

He will likely have support from the dangerous trio of Sam Larsson, Fredy and Dogukan Sinik, who has found the net three times in the league since arriving on loan from Hull City in January.

Besiktas could also field the same XI that started in their last game, following the victory over Galatasaray, with defender Tayyip Sanuc and winger Rachid Ghezzal remaining out of action due to injuries.

Their attack will again be spearheaded by Vincent Aboubakar, who has netted eight goals in 12 league appearances since rejoining the club in January, while Cenk Tosun tops their scoring charts having netted 15 goals in all competitions, including 12 in the league this term from a new role on the left-hand side.

He will likely feature alongside Gedson Fernandes and Nathan Redmond in support of Aboubakar, while Salih Ucan should again join Amir Hadziahmetovic at the base of the midfield, with Romain Saiss and Omar Colley bound to continue their partnership in the middle of a back four.

Antalyaspor possible starting lineup:
Leite; Balci, Toprak, Sari, Sertel; Rakip, Fernando; Larsson, Fredy, Sinik; Wright

Besiktas possible starting lineup:
Gunok; Rosier, Colley, Saiss, Masuaku; Ucan, Hadziahmetovic; Redmond, Fernandes, Tosun; Aboubakar

We say: Antalyaspor 0-2 Besiktas

Besiktas will travel with plenty of confidence following their latest victory, while knowing that they have little room for error if they are to remain in the title fight, and we do not see them being derailed and fancy the Black Eagles to return home with all three points.


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