Preview: Turkey vs. Gibraltar - prediction, team news, lineups

Turkey will be looking to keep their hopes of claiming first spot in Group G alive when they continue their World Cup 2022 qualification campaign against Gibraltar on Saturday evening.

The home side are currently third in the section, four points behind leaders Netherlands, while Gibraltar are bottom, losing all eight of their Group G fixtures during a tough campaign.

Match preview

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Turkey have won four, drawn three and lost one of their eight Group G matches to collect 15 points, which has left them in third spot in the section, two points behind second-placed Norway and four behind leaders Netherlands.

Stefan Kuntz's side will be hoping that Latvia, who face Norway on Saturday, and Montenegro, who host Netherlands, can do them a favour this weekend, with the Crescent-Stars attempting to still be in the mix for World Cup qualification when they travel to Montenegro on Tuesday.

Turkey are up against it when it comes to claiming first or second, though, and it would be a huge disappointment if they failed to qualify for the World Cup, particularly considering their disastrous Euro 2020 campaign, which saw them lose all three of their matches at the finals of the competition.

The Crescent-Stars have not actually been present at the World Cup since finishing third in 2002; Netherlands were always going to be the favourites to top this group, but Kuntz's side will believe that they should be finishing above Norway, who will take on the Netherlands in their final game in the section.

Turkey suffered a heavy defeat away to the Netherlands in September, but they had a more successful October in terms of World Cup qualification results, picking up four points from their two games against Norway and Latvia.

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Gibraltar, as mentioned, have lost all eight of their matches in this section to sit bottom with zero points, while they have only scored three times and conceded 34 during a tough campaign.

Los Llanis have been on the end of some heavy defeats, losing 7-0 and 6-0 to the Netherlands, in addition to shipping five away to Norway back in September.

Gibraltar, who will finish their Group G challenge at home to Latvia on Tuesday, unsurprisingly failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, losing all 10 of their qualification fixtures.

Julio Cesar Ribas's side did manage to draw against Andorra in a friendly back in June, but they have not been victorious since a 1-0 win over Liechtenstein in the UEFA Nations League last October.

Team News

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Turkey will be missing Lille midfielder Yusuf Yazici through suspension, but the home side do not have any fitness issues ahead of kickoff on Saturday evening.

There are not expected to be any real surprises in the starting XI, with the captain Burak Yilmaz certain to lead the line, while there will also be spots in the team for Hakan Calhanoglu and Cengiz Under.

Turkey's defensive unit is also full of quality, with Lille's Zeki Celik, Leicester City's Caglar Soyuncu and on-loan Juventus centre-back Merih Demiral all set to be in the starting team.

As for Gibraltar, Reece Styche is expected to get the nod in the final third of the field, with the 32-year-old the joint-leading goalscorer in the squad with three.

There will again be plenty of experience in Ribas's XI, with 38-year-old Roy Chipolina expected to captain the team from the middle of the defence, while 36-year-old Scott Wiseman and 35-year-old Aymen Mouelhi should also feature as part of a back five for the visitors.

Turkey possible starting lineup:
Bayindir; Celik, Demiral, Soyuncu, Erkin; Under, Kokcu, Ozedemir, Calhanoglu, Karaman; Yilmaz

Gibraltar possible starting lineup:
Coleing; Sergeant, R Chipolina, Wiseman, Mouelhi, J Chipolina; Walker, Ronan, Torrilla, Valarino; Styche

We say: Turkey 4-0 Gibraltar

It is impossible to back anything other than a comfortable Turkey victory, with the only talking point surrounding the number of goals. Turkey only put three past Gibraltar in the reverse match in September, but we are backing them to get one more here in a 4-0 success.

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