Turkish football teams to continue Super League race
Besiktas, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce's race in Turkish Super League is expected to continue after the international break
ANKARA
The bitter struggle of three Turkish football heavyweights, Besiktas, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, for Turkish Spor Toto Super League title is all set to continue after the international break.
Although Besiktas currently lead the standings, their gap with Galatasaray is quite narrow.
Galatasaray will host Genclerbirligi on Saturday at their home Turk Telekom Arena.
Galatasaray forward Lukas Podolski and striker Burak Yilmaz will not be risked as both regulars suffer from injuries. Also, Turkish midfielder Hamit Altintop remains injured.
The match in Istanbul will kick off at 7 p.m., local time (1600 GMT).
Coming in third in the league table on goal average, Fenerbahce will play away against newly-promoted Kayserispor on Sunday.
However, Fenerbahce's Serbian winger Lazar Markovic, on loan from Liverpool, has been suffering from thigh injury. The match at Kadir Has Stadium will begin at 5 p.m., local time (1400 GMT).
Leaders Besiktas will meet Caykur Rizespor on Sunday in Istanbul. Besiktas aim to extend their lead against rivals. Besiktas midfielders, Austrian Veli Kavlak and German Tolgay Arslan are unable to play because of their injuries.
The match at Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium will start at 8 p.m., local time (1700 GMT).
As of match day seven, Besiktas are leading the league with 16 points while archrivals Galatasaray and Fenerbahce are each following Besiktas with 14 points in the league table.
Fixtures of matchday 8:
Saturday:
Bursaspor vs Antalyaspor
Galatasaray vs Genclerbirligi
Torku Konyaspor vs Gaziantepspor
Sunday:
Kasimpasa vs Medicana Sivasspor
Kayserispor vs Fenerbahce
Akhisar Belediyespor vs Eskisehirspor
Besiktas vs Caykur Rizespor
Monday:
Mersin Idmanyurdu vs Trabzonspor
Osmanlispor vs Medipol Basaksehir
Standings:
| Rank | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Besiktas | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 16 |
| 2 | Galatasaray | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 14 |
| 3 | Fenerbahce | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 14 |
| 4 | Torku Konyaspor | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 12 |
| 5 | Osmanlispor | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 11 |
| 6 | Kasimpasa | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| 7 | Antalyaspor | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 8 | Caykur Rizespor | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 10 |
| 9 | Akhisar Belediyespor | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 10 |
| 10 | Trabzonspor | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 9 | -1 | 10 |
| 11 | Gaziantepspor | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | -5 | 10 |
| 12 | Bursaspor | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 9 |
| 13 | Medipol Basaksehir | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 9 | -2 | 9 |
| 14 | Genclerbirligi | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 7 |
| 15 | Medicana Sivasspor | 7 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 6 |
| 16 | Kayserispor | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 5 |
| 17 | Eskisehirspor | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 14 | -8 | 4 |
| 18 | Mersin Idmanyurdu | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 18 | -12 | 2 |
