Fenerbahçe head into Friday’s Turkish Süper Lig clash against Eyüpspor at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Stadium determined to avoid their first back-to-back away defeats of the season.
A loss here could deal a major blow to their title ambitions, with the gap to league leaders Galatasaray already stretched to six points.
Eyüpspor, meanwhile, is looking to defend their position in the top four, currently sitting in fourth place with 26 points, just one point ahead of fifth-placed Göztepe.
However, their recent form has been inconsistent, having suffered a 2-0 defeat to Kasımpaşa last Friday.
Despite the setback, they remain strong at home, boasting the fourth-best record in the league on their turf with five wins, one draw, and just one loss.
The two sides haven’t faced off since 1937, adding extra intrigue to the upcoming match.
Eyüpspor will draw confidence from a recent 4-1 victory over third-division Etimesgut in the Turkish Cup, where Gianni Bruno’s hat trick highlighted their attacking potency.
Still, they’ll need to rise to the occasion against a formidable Fenerbahçe side.
Fenerbahçe, following a disappointing loss to Beşiktaş, bounced back impressively with a 3-1 win over İstanbul Başakşehir.
Youssef En-Nesyri’s brace and Edin Dzeko’s goal secured the three points, and Fenerbahçe will now look to extend that momentum. Despite the loss on the road in their previous match, the Yellow Canaries boast the second-best away form in the Süper Lig and have scored more goals on the road than any other team in the league. Their attack, led by Džeko with nine goals, remains a potent force.
Eyüpspor will be without Fredrik Midtsjo for the remainder of the season due to a serious knee injury, while Recep Niyaz is also sidelined until March.
Mame Baba Thiam, the club’s top scorer with eight goals, is expected to start up front, alongside Bruno, who will look to build on his Cup hat trick.
Fenerbahçe will miss Mert Hakan Yandaş and Jayden Oosterwolde, the latter expected to be out for the entire season.
Dzeko will hope to close the gap on the league’s top scorers with another strong performance, knowing that a win is crucial to keeping their championship hopes alive.