Galatasaray will look to maintain their unbeaten start to the 2023-24 season when they welcome Samsunspor to Rams Park on Saturday.

The newly-promoted visitors, meanwhile, are still searching for their first win of the campaign after mustering one point from their opening three matches.

Match preview

After winning the Turkish Super Lig last season, Galatasaray have made an impressive start to the defence of their title, picking up seven points from their first three league games.

In their most recent outing, Galatasaray cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Gaziantep thanks to a Mauro Icardi brace and a Kerem Akturkoglu strike.

The result represented the club's fifth consecutive victory in all competitions, while they have now avoided defeat in all nine of their competitive games this season.

After progressing through three rounds of qualifying, Galatasaray are looking forward to beginning their Champions League group-stage campaign next week against Copenhagen, but before they focus on that crucial fixture, they must negotiate a home league game against Samsunspor.

Having won 15 of their last 17 home matches in the Turkish Super League, the hosts will go into Saturday's contest as heavy favourites to claim all three points.

Samsunspor, meanwhile, are competing in the top flight for the first time in 11 years after they won the second division title last season to earn promotion to the Turkish Super Lig.

The newly-promoted side would have been encouraged when they took a point from their opening league fixture against Sivasspor, but they have been unable to build upon that 1-1 draw.

After losing 2-0 to potential title-contenders Fenerbahce, Samsunspor fell to a narrow defeat to Kayserispor in their final game before the international break.

Marius Mouandilmadji levelled proceedings against Kayserispor after Anthony Uzodimma had opened the scoring, but Mame Thiam restored his side's advantage before half time, and with Samsunspor unable to find another equaliser, they fell to a consecutive defeat.

The early signs suggest that Huseyin Eroglu's side will have their cut out to retain their top-flight status, and it will certainly be a challenge to take points off Galatasaray in the first competitive meeting between the two sides since January 2012.

Team News

Davinson Sanchez joined Galatasaray from Tottenham Hotspur in a permanent transfer earlier this month, but he is unlikely to make his debut on Saturday, with the Colombian defender not expected to return from international duty until Friday.

Sanchez's former Spurs teammate Tanguy Ndombele, who has arrived on a loan deal from Tottenham, could make his first appearance for the club, while fellow summer signing Hakim Ziyech is set to feature among the substitutes.

Saturday's game may come too soon for former Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha, who has missed the last four matches through injury.

As for the visitors, midfielder Taylan Antalyali is unlikely to feature in Saturday's encounter due to an injury issue.

Carlo Holse, Ercan Kara, Flavien Tait, Landry Dimata and Muhammed Gumuskaya could all feature in the matchday squad after joining the club in the last two weeks.

After scoring his first goal for the club against Kayserispor, summer signing Marius is expected to lead the line this weekend.

Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Muslera; Boey, Nelsson, Bardakci, Angelino; Ndombele, Torreira; Tete, Demirbay, Akturkoglu; Icardi

Samsunspor possible starting lineup:
Kocuk; Yavru, Ozturk, Van Drongelen; Schindler, Aydogdu, Ait Bennasser, Bola; Kilinc, Fofana, Marius

We say: Galatasaray 3-0 Samsunspor

Galatasaray boast a wealth of quality in their squad, and we think that they will prove too strong for their newly-promoted opponents who have struggled to readjust to life in the Turkish Super Lig after 11 years outside the top flight.

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