As the Turkish Süper Lig season nears its boiling level, Istanbul archrivals Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe will lock horns on Sunday in a tie which may decide the eventual victor.
With Fenerbahçe on the hunt to clinch their first but elusive league title because the 2013-14 season, the reigning champions Galatasaray will probably be looking out to make it twice in a row.
As it might be a norm, current derbies between these fierce rivals reveal that the crew scoring first usually avoids defeat, making the battle for the primary strike much more essential than ever.
Over the previous 29 years, in 61 league encounters, the crew to attract first blood has solely misplaced 5 occasions.
Galatasaray emerged victorious in 14 matches the place they struck first, whereas the Yellow Canaries gained 24 such encounters.
Out of those 61 video games, eight led to a draw with targets.
In six of these, Fenerbahçe scored first however the Lions managed to equalize.
Galatasaray, regardless of scoring first in 4 matches, couldn’t stop Fenerbahçe from turning the tables and successful.
A notable exception occurred within the 2019-2020 season at Kadıköy, the place Fenerbahçe took an early lead however Galatasaray triumphed 3-1.
This was the primary time Fenerbahçe misplaced a derby after main in that interval.
İsmail Kartal’s males stay unbeaten when scoring first this season, with 29 wins out of 36 matches.
They have amassed factors in each sport the place they netted the opening objective, drawing solely twice towards Samsunspor and Sivasspor.
Okan Buruk’s troops, in distinction, misplaced factors in only one match after scoring first this season.
They performed 36 matches, dropping factors in solely 4 video games – 3 attracts and a loss to Hatayspor.
Notably, they scored first towards Sivasspor however solely managed a draw.
Despite trailing their upcoming opponents by six factors in second, Fenerbahçe are the league’s prime scorer with 92 targets in 36 video games, conceding 31.
As log leaders, Galatasaray, the second-highest scoring crew with 89 targets, boast one of the best defensive file, permitting solely 24 targets.
Galatasaray have gained all 18 residence video games this season, main the house standings with 54 factors, scoring 51 targets and conceding 14.
Fenerbahçe, unbeaten away, have 15 wins and three attracts from 18 away matches, amassing 48 factors, scoring 39 and conceding 11.
All eyes will probably be on Galatasaray’s Mauro Icardi and Fenerbahçe’s Edin Dzeko.
Icardi leads the scoring chart with 23 targets in 32 matches, whereas Dzeko has 20 targets in 34 matches, trailing Icardi within the race for the highest scorer title.
Galatasaray scored in 34 of 36 video games, lacking solely in a goalless draw with Kayserispor and a 0-0 derby with Fenerbahçe within the first half of the season.
Fenerbahçe failed to attain in three video games, with goalless attracts towards Adana Demirspor and Konyaspor and the sooner derby towards Galatasaray.
Both groups have a tendency to attain extra within the second half.
Galatasaray have 49 second-half targets out of 89 complete, whereas Fenerbahçe scored 50 second-half targets out of 92 complete.
The match will kick off at 7:00 p.m at RAMS Park, the place Galatasaray’s stable residence kind will probably be examined towards Fenerbahçe’s impeccable away file.
With Icardi and Dzeko main their respective sides, the battle for supremacy and the scoring title appears to be large open.
Source: www.dailysabah.com