Besiktas will bid to end a five-game winless run in all competitions when they play host to Alanyaspor on Saturday.
The visitors, who sit in fourth place, are in fine form after winning four of their last five Super Lig matches.
Match preview
© Reuters
The home side's European hopes have been dealt a blow in recent weeks with Besiktas winless in their last four league matches.
Three of those four contests ended in draws, with Besiktas's inability to convert draws into victories hindering their progress.
Their most recent point came in dramatic circumstances, as the Black Eagles held the league leaders Trabzonspor to a 1-1 draw, despite Besiktas falling behind courtesy of Andreas Cornelius's opener.
Michy Batshuayi spurned an opportunity to equalise from the spot, but his blushes were spared when Valentin Rosier restored parity and although the Black Eagles were reduced to 10-men following Cyle Larin's red card, they held firm to claim a point.
Although Besiktas are currently five points adrift of the top four, Saturday's contest against fourth-placed Alanyaspor represents a chance to close the gap.
© Reuters
However, Alanyaspor will be battling hard to hold onto their top-four spot, as they enter Saturday's contest with a two-point gap to fifth-placed Istanbul Basaksehir.
After suffering a 5-2 defeat to Fenerbahce, Saturday's visitors bounced back in impressive fashion, claiming victory in their last two matches.
Goztepe were ousted by a 2-0 scoreline before they edged out Caykur Rizespor last weekend to keep them firmly on track for European qualification.
Emre Akbaba gave his side an early lead against Caykur Rizespor before Efecan Karaca doubled Alanyaspor's advantage from the spot, and though Papiss Cisse cut the deficit, Francesco Farioli's charges held firm to clinch back-to-back victories.
With Besiktas representing tough opposition, Alanyaspor will look to draw inspiration from the 2-0 victory that they picked up against the Black Eagles in the reverse fixture.
- W
- W
- D
- L
- D
- D
- W
- L
- D
- L
- D
- D
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Larin was sent off within 12 minutes of entering the action against Trabzonspor, ruling the Canadian out of Saturday's contest due to suspension.
Despite missing a spot kick, Batshuayi is expected to retain his place in the starting lineup with the Chelsea loanee looking to add to the 12 league goals that he has scored this season.
Miralem Pjanic will be on the bench for the hosts after returning from injury to feature as a substitute last weekend.
Alanyaspor, meanwhile, could be without Famara Diedhiou who missed the win over Caykur Rizespor through injury.
Farioli is expected to keep changes to a minimum, although he could bring Umut Gunes into the starting lineup for the weekend's contest.
Furkan Bayir and Fatih Aksoy both came into the centre of defence last Sunday, and they are set to retain their places in the backline for the away encounter with Besiktas.
Besiktas possible starting lineup:
Destanoglu; Rosier, Vida, Montero, Yilmaz; Bozdogan, Souza; Ghezzal, Teixeira, Karaman; Batshuayi
Alanyaspor possible starting lineup:
Marafona; Juanfran, Bayir, Aksoy, Borja; Karaca, Akbaba, Novais, Gunes, Bingol; Candeias
We say: Besiktas 2-2 Alanyaspor
Besiktas have drawn 11 league games this season, and we think that they will experience another drawn contest on Saturday when they come up against an Alanyaspor side who are determined to hold onto their top-four spot.
