Fenerbahce vs Galatasaray Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

You’d struggle to find a more intense derby anywhere in the world this weekend, and that includes Sunday’s Milan derby. These two Turkish giants have a bitter rivalry which stretches back over decades. One man who knows exactly how heated things get is Graeme Souness. The former Galatasaray manager once planted the club’s flag in the middle of Fenerbahce’s pitch, before being chased off it.

That happened over 20 years ago, and the incident still brings out joy and hate from the two Istanbul sides. These two have battled each other for titles for years in Turkey, but they’ve both fallen some way from the Super Lig summit. Coming into this clash, they aren’t even the highest placed teams in Istanbul, never mind the rest of the country. Can they make up for that and restore some pride with victory here?

It’s been a troubled season for Fenerbahce, who dismissed their manager Vitor Pereira in the summer. He failed to lead the team into the Champions League group stage, and that cost him his job. Not too long after, new coach Dick Advocaat was left facing a similar fate. With his team struggling, there were rumours he was set for the sack too. The former Sunderland boss has started to turn things around, which includes recording four straight wins.

Despite their problems, they’ve maintained a strong home league record. They’ve lost just once in their last 28 Super Lig games here. That record should surely make things tough for the visitors, Galatasaray don’t exactly have the best record away to their rivals of late.

Gala are looking to improve after a few tough years, which has seen them tumble down the league and get kicked out of Europe. Financial Fair Play rules kept them out of Europe this season, but they’re on course to return. They’re up to third going into this huge clash. They’re even starting to improve their away record, but it still needs work. The away side have now won just four of their last 18 away league games.

The visitors have built their success this term on a strong backline, which has seen them concede just 0.8 goals per game so far this term. They’ve let in just four goals in their five away Super Lig games, while they’ve recorded back to back clean sheets on the road. That suits this game, as meetings between these two tend to be tight. Just one of the last nine encounters have seen more than two goals.

Seeing as just 40% of Galatasaray’s away games have seen more than 2.5 goals, we’re backing a low scoring match here. Under 2.5 is our main tip, which is priced at evens with bet365.