Galatasaray Istanbul
vs
Kayserispor
Kick-off
18:45 GMT
14 August 2017
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 4th-place finish. The visitors only narrowly missed out on relegation as they finished 14th, one place above the drop zone.
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.
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 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.
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.
14 August 2017 - 18:45 GMT
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