Konyaspor and Galatasaray will both be looking to secure back-to-back wins to kick off the Turkish Super Lig season when they face off at the Medas Konya Buyuksehir Stadyumu on Friday. The hosts started their campaign with an away win against Kasimpasa, while the visitors, the reigning champions, narrowly edged out Hatayspor in their season opener last Friday.
The Super Lig match between Konyaspor and Galatasaray will be played at the Konya Buyuksehir Stadyumu Stadium in Konya, Türkiye. It will kick off at 2:00 pm ET/ 11:00 am PT on Friday, August 16, 2024.
Konyaspor is expected to field a similar starting lineup to the one that secured their opening-day victory over Kasimpasa for Friday's match. Summer signing Josip Calusic remains out due to injury, while Nikola Boranijasevic is not yet ready to make his debut after arriving from FC Zurich.
Danijel Aleksic could push for a starting spot after coming off the bench to score the equalizer in their last game, while Pedrinho is likely to be deployed in an attacking midfield role again, having opened the scoring in that match.
Umut Nayir will continue to lead the attack, having scored the winning goal in his competitive debut for Konyaspor last Saturday. Meanwhile, Ufuk Akyol and Marko Jevtovic will be key figures in front of the defense as they prepare for what promises to be a challenging encounter.
Konyaspor possible XI: Slowik; Yazgili, Damjanovic, Demirbag, Guilherme; Jevtovic, Aykol; Aleksic, Pedrinho, Erdogan; Nayir
Galatasaray will enter Friday's match without defender Davinson Sanchez, who sustained an injury after featuring in their season opener. This absence paves the way for Victor Nelsson to slot in alongside Abdulkerim Bardakci at the center of the defense.
In midfield, Lucas Torreira and Kerem Demirbay will aim to keep their partnership intact, despite the challenge from summer recruit Gabriel Sara. On the wings, Wilfried Zaha is back in contention and will vie with Kerem Akturkoglu for a starting role, after Hakim Ziyech and Baris Alper Yilmaz were given the nod in the last game.
Up front, Michy Batshuayi, who joined over the summer following spells at Besiktas and Fenerbahce, strengthened his case for a starting spot by netting the decisive goal off the bench against Hatayspor. Mauro Icardi is expected to lead the attack once more, having already opened his scoring account for the season after delivering 32 goals and 12 assists in 47 appearances for the Istanbul club last season.
Galatasaray possible XI: Muslera; Dubois, Nelsson, Bardakci, Kohn; Torreira, Demirbay; Ziyech, Mertens, Akturkoglu; Icardi
