Galatasaray could field 5 players in their first derby

In Week 9 of the Trendyol Süper Lig, Galatasaray host Fenerbahçe at the RAMS Park tomorrow at 21:30. The yellow-reds have collected 19 points from 6 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat, and sit second in the league with a game in hand. The Lions want to win the derby to avoid falling behind in the title race and to widen the points gap with their rivals.

Galatasaray have not lost a Süper Lig match at home. The team started a 39-match unbeaten run at the RAMS Park after a 1-0 defeat to Fenerbahçe in Week 37 of the 2023-2024 season. In that span they have won 31 matches and drawn 8. This season, Galatasaray have won 3 of their 4 home league matches and drawn the other.

Victor Osimhen has played 5 times against Fenerbahçe, across 4 league matches and 1 cup match. Galatasaray have won 3 of those games, drawn 2 and lost none. The Nigerian striker has scored 3 goals and provided 1 assist in these derbies.

Rafael Leao, Aleksey Batrakov, Deniz Gül, Lesley Ugochukwu and Bitshiabu will play in a Galatasaray-Fenerbahçe derby for the first time if they take the field. Meanwhile, Lucas Torreira and Barış Alper Yılmaz are the team's most experienced players against the sky-blues, each having played 11 matches against them. Torreira has 2 goals and Barış Alper has 1. The red card suspensions of Torreira and Lesley Ugochukwu have been served.

The defensive picture is worrying. In their 8 Süper Lig matches, Galatasaray have scored 17 goals and conceded 11. The yellow-reds have conceded in 5 of those 8 matches.