Following their humbling defeat earlier this week, Trabzonspor seek to steady the ship as they return to home soil on Saturday, when title-chasing Istanbul Basaksehir visit the Black Sea coast.

Separated by five points and three places in the Super Lig standings, the teams have experienced contrasting form of late, with the champions starting to stumble in defence of their crown; the visitors winning three of their last four games.

Match preview

For the second time since returning from the World Cup break, Trabzonspor found themselves on the end of a heavy loss on Monday, with their latest capitulation coming against mid-table Alanyaspor.

Facing a side occupying ninth place in the Turkish top flight before kickoff, the champions were three goals down at the break despite dominating the ball and ultimately left the Mediterranean resort city having suffered a 5-0 thumping.

Only a fortnight after their 4-1 defeat to Fatih Karagumruk, Abdullah Avci's side not only returned home empty-handed but also slipped further off the pace being set by Super Lig leaders Galatasaray, who they now trail by 10 points.

Between those two setbacks, Trabzonspor's most recent home fixture resulted in a 3-0 win over Giresunspor - their fifth win from eight as hosts this term. They may be without a domestic victory on the road since October, but an unbeaten record at Senol Gunes Stadium sees them still in with a slim chance of securing back-to-back titles this year.

At the very least, they will expect to contend for a top-three finish - and with it, automatic European qualification - so must stay hard to beat by the Black Sea.

Burnishing their own home record on Monday, third-placed Istanbul Basaksehir took on close challengers Adana Demirspor last time out, and a 2-1 victory hauled them four points clear of their rivals for a European place.

Emre Belozoglu's side went in front through Deniz Turuc's spot-kick at Fatih Terim Stadium, and following a frenzied spell of three goals in the space of 10 second-half minutes, the capital city club had an advantage they would never relinquish.

As a result, Basaksehir sit third in the standings - only behind fellow Istanbul clubs Galatasaray and Fenerbahce - with a total of 10 wins from 17 league games.

Still on the tails of such established Turkish football heavyweights, the 2020 champions could lift the championship trophy for just a second time if they can build on a recent run of 10 points from a possible 12 - and they are also through to the last 16 of the Turkiye Kupasi.

Thanks to Emre's hard work on the training pitch, the Grey Owls lie third in the 'goals conceded' rankings so far this season, at an average of just over one per game, so will surely make life difficult for a Trabzonspor side under pressure to perform in front of their fans.

Team News

In the aftermath of Monday's calamity, Abdullah Avci is likely to make some changes to his Trabzonspor team this weekend, as he seeks to make up for failings on the road with another home win.

Marc Bartra, Enis Bardhi and Yusuf Yazici all appeared from the bench in Alanya, so each could now come into contention for a start on Saturday.

Brazilian centre-back Vitor Hugo, who received a yellow card last time out and is subsequently suspended, should be replaced by former Real Betis defender Bartra in the hosts' back four.

Meanwhile, Edin Visca (shoulder) and Huseyin Turkmen (Achilles tendon) are still sidelined by injury.

By contrast, Basaksehir are set to keep a more settled side, with Italian target man Stefano Okaka leading the line up front and Serdar Gurler featuring on the wing.

French forward Mounir Chouiar has perhaps the strongest claim for promotion to the visitors' starting XI, while coach Emre is once more without injured duo Lucas Biglia and Mesut Ozil.

Trabzonspor possible starting lineup:
Cakir; Stryger Larsen, Gbamin, Bartra, Elmali; Siopsis; Trezeguet, Yazici, Bardhi, Unuvar; Bozok

Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Babacan; Ozbayrakli, Touba, Duarte, Lima; Tekdemir, Aleksic, Ndayishimiye; Gurler, Okaka, Chouiar

We say: Trabzonspor 1-1 Istanbul Basaksehir

Shaken by recent events and in desperate need of points to stop their descent of the table, all the pressure is on Trabzonspor this weekend. Met with a well-drilled side that has lost just three times all season, a share of the spoils would represent a decent result - and that is what they may have to settle for.

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