Galatasaray will visit Sivasspor hoping to keep in touch with their rivals in the Super Lig. In Turkey’s premier division, Gala and Fenerbahce lead their nearest rival by 14 points. Their hosts sitting in midtable.
Preview (Sivasspor vs. Galatasaray)
Galatasaray and their cross-city rivals were scheduled to meet again in Saudi Arabia less than a week after their goalless draw in the intercontinental derby with Fenerbahce just before Christmas, to determine who would win the Super Kupa. But a diplomatic scuffle resulted in the match being canceled at the eleventh hour. Gala went back home to get ready for their home match against Super Lig underdog Konyaspor on Sunday. Even though they dominated the ball and the number of shots, it took Okan Buruk’s team more than an hour to overcome the opposition. Abdulkerim Bardakci, a central defender, opened the scoring, and Wilfried Zaha added a late third after the 90th minute.
After securing a victory, Galatasaray and Fener remained level on points with just 18 games played. The two Istanbul giants will be competing to finish first even at this early juncture in the season. Gala’s defense has shown to be their greatest asset thus far. Since a thrilling 3-3 Champions League draw with Manchester United, they have let up just one goal. The Lions should therefore have little need to be afraid of their upcoming opponents. The lowest-scoring squad in the top half of the Super Liga standings. Sivasspor lost both of their league matches against Galatasaray the previous season. They also only managed one victory in their previous ten travels.
However, the Sivas-based team has emerged victorious from three of the clubs’ previous six encounters. They will now look to pull off another upset on Thursday. Although Bulent Uygun’s team has had a difficult season and has never been able to safely escape the relegation zone, they have improved to 10th position in the rankings after winning three of their past five games.
Team News
Star striker Mauro Icardi will be out for Galatasaray once more due to a facial fracture sustained during the most recent Istanbul derby, and Sergio Oliviera is still out with a muscular ailment. In addition, Hakim Ziyech and Cedric Bakambu have left to represent Morocco and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, while the versatile Baris Alper Yilmaz, who played left back the last time out, is suspended for yellow card accumulation.
The Ivory Coast did not call up Wilfried Zaha, but Lucas Torreira and Sacha Boey will both return. Davinson Sanchez, a center-back from Colombia, has been cleared to play and might be on the bench. Additionally, Ahmed Musa and Clinton N’Jie, two Sivasspor players, are abroad on international duty, with both of them headed to the AFCON. A center-forward for the hosts should be either Modou Barrow or Bengali-Fode Koita, while former Barcelona striker Rey Manaj is serving a one-match suspension.
Sivasspor 1-3 Galatasaray
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