As 16 of the 18 Turkish Super Lig teams are off the mark for the 207/18 season with one game under their belts, it’s time for the last two sides to complete match week 1. Kayserispor travel to Galatasaray to get their campaign underway. The hosts were less than impressive last term as they struggled in the league and could only manage a below-par 4^th-place finish. The visitors only narrowly missed out on relegation as they finished 14^th, one place above the drop zone.

STATS

• Galatasaray ended last season in top form after failing to impress for the rest of it. They won four of their last five games and made sure they qualified for a European place, which came in the form of a Europa League qualifying place. However, they have already crashed out after losing 3-1 on aggregate to Swedish side, Ostersunds. They’ll be hoping for a better start in the league.
• Kayserispor’s late season form is probably what kept them in the division last season as they won three of their six remaining games. They will be looking to consolidate their place in the league earlier in this term instead of leaving it until the final day to confirm safety. Their final game was a 1-0 loss to Istanbul Basaksehir.
• Portuguese winger, Bruma, was Galatasaray’s main goal scoring threat with 11 goals in the league. It shows the Turkish giants’ failure to find a prolific striker as Bruma played most of the season out wide.
• Kayserispor also had a top goal scorer with 11 goals as Deniz Türüc hit the back of the net on 11 occasions. He was their one bright spark in a season of disarray.

HEAD TO HEAD

As the superpower in Turkish football for so many years, Galatasaray haven’t struggled against many opponents and they certainly haven’t struggled against Kayserispor. The visitors have only won twice in the last 39 meetings between the sides, however, they did win in the most recent fixture last season. In the last five meetings, Galatasaray have actually won less than their opponents as Kayserispor have won two while Galatasaray have won one.

GALATASARAY NEWS

After a poor season last term, Galatasaray will be desperate to get off the mark with three points this one. However, they are missing two key players. Selcuk Inan (injury) and Luis Pedro Cavanda (suspension) will both miss the game for the hosts but they should have enough quality to fill the gaps left by the two.

KAYSERISPOR NEWS

Kayserispor will want to bounce back from last season’s poor showing and a win over one of the title favourites in their first game would be a perfect start. They don’t have any injuries or suspensions to worry about so have the best possible chance of bringing a result back from Galatasaray.

SUMMARY

It is very clear that Galatasaray are the favourites to win this one, as they are favourites in nearly all of their games. However, they will have to be cautious of the potential banana skin of Kayserispor as the visitors will go into the game with nothing to lose. They shouldn’t have too many issues winning the game but as it’s the first game of the new campaign, anything could happen.