All eyes on intercontinental derby between Galatasaray, Fenerbahce on Sunday

ISTANBUL

Following the international break, football fans in Turkey eye the coming intercontinental derby between Istanbul's fierce rivals, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, on Sunday.

The two teams are now quite far from the top of the league, so both need a victory to grip the title race in the Turkish Spor Toto Super Lig.

Collecting 21 points, Galatasaray are in the fourth spot in the standings led by Trabzonspor, who have 30 points.

The Lions were held to a 1-1 draw against VavaCars Fatih Karagumruk at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium on the previous matchday.

Meanwhile, visitors Fenerbahce are in the seventh position with 20 points.

They crave a victory in the league as the Yellow-Canaries' last beat Kasimpasa 2-1 at home on Oct. 3.

In the previous fixture, Fenerbahce took a 2-2 draw against Yukatel Kayserispor in Istanbul.

The hotly anticipated derby on Galatasaray's home ground, Nef Stadium, will kick off at 1600GMT.

Fenerbahce lead derbies

Out of the 394 clashes between the two Istanbul clubs, Fenerbahce won more of the fixture with 147 victories compared to Galatasaray's 124, while the remaining 123 times ended in draws.

The Yellow-Navies also lead the goal count, having produced 513 over Galatasaray's 464.

In the 128 first-tier league matches, Galatasaray had 35 victories and Fenerbahce had 50, as 43 games ended in a draw.

Galatasaray won the last derby against Fenerbahce 1-0 as Egyptian forward Mostafa Mohamed scored the winning goal at Fenerbahce's Ulker Stadium on Feb. 6.

The Lions' most lethal weapon this season has so far been Mohamed, who produced four goals.

For the Yellow-Canaries, Mesut Ozil netted three goals and produced one assist.

The first game played between Fenerbahce, based on the Asian side of Istanbul, and Galatasaray, located on the European side, was a friendly on Jan. 17, 1909.

The match was held at Papazin Cayiri, meaning the field of the priest, where the Ulker Stadium stands today. It ended with a 2-0 score in favor of Galatasaray.

Week 13 Fixtures

Saturday:

Atakas Hatayspor - Fraport TAV Antalyaspor

GZT Giresunspor - Oznur Kablo Yeni Malatyaspor

Medipol Basaksehir - Demir Grup Sivasspor

Aytemiz Alanyaspor - Besiktas

Sunday:

Kasimpasa - VavaCars Fatih Karagumruk

Ittifak Holding Konyaspor - Caykur Rizespor

Altay - Adana Demirspor

Galatasaray - Fenerbahce

Monday:

Trabzonspor - Gaziantep FK

Yukatel Kayserispor - Goztepe