Galatasaray vs Konyaspor Predictions

Having regained the winning thread by beating Kayserispor by three goals to nil last time out, the hosts should come into this game full of confidence. Against a Konyaspor side that has struggled to get going away from home, Fatih Terim’s men will be hoping to win at home for the first time in three league matches.

As one of Turkey’s biggest clubs, Galatasaray are unsurprisingly close to the top of the table, while they come into this match in decent form, though there have been times where their limitations have been uncovered. Prior to that convincing win away against Kayserispor last time out, the Lions were fortunate to take a point off Fenerbahce, a game where they looked weak at the back, while defensive weaknesses also came to the fore when they were beaten by Yeni before that.

Overall, Galatasaray’s performances on their own patch have been encouraging. They’re yet to lose at home, winning four and drawing two. During that time, they’ve averaged 1.68 expected goals for, while they’ve given up an average of 1.12 at the other end.

Konyaspor may be below Galatasaray in the table, but they’re no slouches. Despite winning just one of their last six, Friday’s visitors are a decent side, as the underlying data shows. In the league, they’re averaging 1.69 expected goals for, while they’re surrendering just 0.97 at the other end.

Furthermore, when the visitors took on current league leaders Besiktas earlier in the campaign, they completely dominated, as they emerged with a +1.89 expected goal supremacy, so they’re unlikely to show any fear at Türk Telekom Stadium on Friday night. Add in the fact that Konyaspor have lost just one of their six away games, as well as the fact that they’re boasting a very respectable +0.42 expected goal difference on their travels, and it’s easy to feel that the early market underestimates the visitors a tad.

As things stand in the Turkish top flight, the hosts sit six points ahead of Konyaspor, though it is the visitors who rank better in terms of both expected goals for and expected goals against. Konyaspor also rank above the hosts when it comes to shots on target, progressive passes and passes into the final third. On this basis, it’s very easy to make a case for the away side at the prices.