Bodrumspor will host Istanbul Basaksehir at the Bodrum Ilce Stadi on Saturday, in the fifth round of the 2024-2025 Turkish Super Lig season.
The hosts are coming into this match after a 2-0 defeat against Goztepe, while the visitors won 5-2 against Antalyaspor in their last match.
Match preview
Bodrum have struggled to adapt to life in the top flight after their historic promotion from the second tier to the Turkish Super Lig at the end of the previous season.
Ismet Tasdemir's side have only won one of their four league matches so far, a 3-1 victory over Konyaspor at Bodrum Ilce Stadi on August 24, while they have lost the other three.
The club from Mugla suffered a 1-0 defeat to Gaziantep in their first-ever Super Lig match, before being thrashed 4-1 by newly-promoted side, Eyupspor, on matchday two, and their most recent league outing ended in a 2-0 loss to another newly-promoted side, Goztepe.
With three points from a possible 12, Bodrum are 14th in the table, just one point above Alanyaspor, who are the first side in the relegation zone.
Next in line for Tasdemir's side is a home game against Istanbul Basaksehir, and this will be the first-ever top-flight meeting between them – their only previous encounter was during the Turkish Cup in 2021, which Bodrum won on penalties.
Istanbul Basaksehir will be confident of picking up a first-ever victory in this fixture, and rightly so, as they have carried their solid form from last season into the current one.
The Grey Owls have not lost across all competitions since May, drawing two and winning nine of 11 games since then, a run that helped them secure qualification into the group stage of the Europa Conference League.
This run has also included three league matches – Cagdas Atan's side drew 1-1 with Rizespor in their opening match, but stepped things up afterwards with a 4-2 win over Alanyaspor and a 5-2 victory over Antalyaspor in their most recent league outing.
Unbeaten in their first three league games and in fifth place with seven points, Basaksehir are just three points behind league-leading Fenerbahce who have 10 points having played a game more.
The Grey Owls have not lost on the road since March, a period in which they have played eight competitive away games across all competitions, winning six and drawing the most recent two.
Team News
Bodrum will be without Tunahan Akpinar, who is out with a shin injury and is not expected to return to action until later this month.
Mustafa Erdilman, who suffered a cruciate ligament tear during the preseason, is also out for an extended period and is not expected to return to action next year, while Suleyman Ozdamar has an ankle injury.
Basaksehir have lost Ousseynou Ba to an ankle injury until October, while Leo Duarte is doubtful as he looks to recover in time from a muscle issue.
Krzysztof Piatek came off the bench to bag a hat-trick against Antalyaspor, taking him joint-top on the Super Lig scorer's chart – the Polish striker will hope to play from the start in this clash.
Bodrumspor possible starting lineup:
Sousa; Ergun, Herelle, Aytemur, Sen; Mohammed; Dimitrov, Ribeiro, Yalcin, Bayrakdar; Puscas
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Sengezer; Ozdemir, Opoku, Gureler, Lima; Turuc, Kemen; Turuc, Pelkas, Figueiredo; Piatek
We say: Bodrumspor 1-2 Istanbul Basaksehir
Basaksehir are in the form of their lives and appear unstoppable at the moment, especially against a side like Bodrum that has struggled to adapt to the top-flight intensity and quality.
We expect the visitors to secure maximum points here, as they have been solid on the road, while the hosts have barely found the net, let alone picked up wins.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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