Sports Mole previews Sunday’s Turkish Super Lig clash between Galatasaray and Goztepe SK, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Defending champions Galatasaray aim to extend their lead at the top of the Turkish Super Lig standings as they welcome Goztepe SK to Rams Park on Sunday for round 10 action.
Cimbom sit five points clear at the summit with 25 points from their opening nine games and face visitors who suffered their first defeat of the campaign last time out.
Match preview
Having won the Super Lig three times in succession, including last season’s double with the Turkish Cup, Galatasaray’s domestic supremacy has rarely been in doubt, even if that dominance seldom translates on the continental front.
Just one victory in 18 Champions League main-draw outings — including a 5-1 mauling at Frankfurt in the opening fixture of the 2025-26 campaign — highlights the club’s European hoodoo, though Okan Buruk’s men are beginning to find their stride after consecutive wins in the competition.
After inspiring Cimbom to a famous 1-0 win over Arne Slot’s big-money Liverpool side in Istanbul, Victor Osimhen was at the thick of things on Wednesday, helping Gala to a 3-1 home victory over Bodo/Glimt with a first-half brace that left the side 14th in the league phase standing.
Smiling from another midweek continental success, the Asians return to the Super Lig, where they have won 16 of their last 17 outings stretching from last season, the only blemish being a 1-1 draw against Besiktas on matchday eight of the ongoing campaign.
Gala left no spoils in the following league game against another city neighbour as they secured a hard-fought 2-1 success at İstanbul Basaksehir, a result that brought Cimbom’s goal tally to 22 — seven more than any other side in the division — while conceding just four leaves them with the second-best defensive record.
Only Goztepe have conceded fewer goals (3), and the visitors will hope their watertight backline can withstand the home side’s formidable attack, especially as Goz Goz have not been as solid at the other end, with just 11 goals to their name.
Despite a need for improvement in the final third, sitting just behind the top four with 16 points from their nine games (W4, D4, L1) suggests Stanimir Stoilov’s men are mounting another impressive campaign following last season’s eighth-place finish.
That said, Goztepe head into this encounter on the back of a 1-0 defeat at Alanyaspor, leaving Fenerbahce and Galatasaray as the only sides yet to taste defeat in the Super Lig this season.
While trimming the number of unbeaten teams would be a top-shelf wish for the visitors, merely avoiding another setback might hold just as much value for Goz Goz, who have lost each of the last seven meetings with Gala, including a 4-1 aggregate defeat across both legs last term.
Galatasaray Turkish Super Lig form:
Galatasaray form (all competitions):
Goztepe SK Turkish Super Lig form:
Goztepe SK form (all competitions):
Team News
Galatasaray will be without holding midfielder Lucas Torreira this weekend after the Uruguayan was handed special leave by the club for family reasons.
This leaves Buruk with fewer options in the engine room, especially following news of Ilkay Gundogan’s hamstring problem, so it would not be a surprise to see Gabriel Sara and Mario Lemina pair in the middle of the park.
With Wilfried Singo still sidelined through injury, Roland Sallai is expected to remain at right-back, while Davinson Sanchez returns for Super Lig action after missing the last league game through suspension.
Osimhen should lead the line once more after netting his 12th career Champions League goal in midweek, though veteran striker Mauro Icardi — with five goals in the top-flight season — remains a quality alternative up front if Buruk opts to rest the Nigerian.
Goztepe have encountered a string of fitness issues this term, but defender Allan Godoi, who missed the trip to Alanyaspor, appears to be the only regular currently on the treatment table, with Furkan Bayir expected to fill the void once again.
Attacking midfielder Junior Olaitan returned from injury with a second-half cameo last time out and should feature from the off if deemed fit enough.
Ibrahim Sabra missed the previous game through fitness concerns and is likely to sit out the weekend trip to Istanbul, though the 19-year-old’s absence should not alter Stoilov’s options for the lineup since he has yet to make a league start this season.
Up front, Janderson will be aiming to end a six-game drought for goal contributions after his only strike and two assists arrived within the opening three matches of the campaign.
Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Cakir; Sallai, Bardakci, Sanchez, Elmali; Sane, Lemina, Sara, Akgun; Yimaz, Osimhen
Goztepe SK possible starting lineup:
Lis; Bokele, Heliton, Bayir; Cherni, Miroshi, Olaitan, Kurtulan; Rhaldney; Juan, Janderson
We say: Galatasaray 2-0 Goztepe SK
This fixture pits the division’s best attack against its tightest defence, but that may count for little in this contest given Galatasaray’s grip on the domestic front, so a comfortable victory for the home side against visitors they have beaten in successive meetings is the expected outcome.
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