Will it be third time lucky for Istanbul Basaksehir? The Istanbul club will play in its third Turkish Cup final on Sunday against Fenerbahce. Basaksehir lost the final in 2011 and 2017.
Can they take down one of Turkey’s biggest clubs in the cup match or will it be another defeat?
📸 from today's training. pic.twitter.com/hAV4QZUdXu— Fenerbahçe English (@Fenerbahce_EN) June 6, 2023
📸 from today's training. pic.twitter.com/hAV4QZUdXu
Despite winning a record 28 league trophies, Fenerbahce won the Turkish Cup just six times. Their last domestic cup triumph was in 2013 when the club defeated Trabzonspor.
Fenerbahce ended the Turkish Super Lig season in second place, eight points off first-place Galatasaray. The Canaries finished the season with a 3-0 win over Gaziantep to finish the season.
The club went unbeaten in five of its last six Super Lig fixtures.
The Canaries posted a record in all competitions of 36W-12D-7L. Fenerbahce defeated Sivasspor 3-0 in the semifinal to reach the final of the competition.
Istanbul Basaksehir are unbeaten in five straight matches in all competitions going into the final. Basaksehir defeated Ankaragucu on penalties to reach the final.
The team has a record of 27W-15D-12L this season in all competitions.
Fenerbahce are on a two-game winning streak against Basaksehir ahead of the Turkish Cup final. The Canaries won both league fixtures during the season by a combined score of 3-1.
Fenerbahce won six of their last 10 matches against Istanbul Basaksehir in all competitions. Istanbul Basaksehir won just three of those 10 encounters with Fenerbahce.
Jorge Jesus could be without goalkeeper and captain Altay Bayindir due to a lack of fitness. Left-back Lincoln is out with an ACL injury and won’t return until next season.
Miguel Crespo and Joshua King are both expected to miss the match as well for Fenerbahce.
Enner Valencia scored 29 Super Lig goals for Fenerbahce this season. Striker Michy Batshuayi added 12 league goals.
Istanbul Basaksehir manager Emre Belozoglu could be without forward Stefano Okaka for the final. Forward Patryk Srysz is also a doubt to play.
Captain Mahmut Tekdemir could miss the final following a hip injury. Centre-back Efe Koyuncu is out with a knee injury.
Basaksehir are led in goals by Danijel Aleksic with eight. The Blue and Orange scored the third-most goals in the Super L goals in the Super Lig with 78 but no player scored more than eight league goals during the campaign.
Sunday’s final will see Basaksehir attempt to finally win the Turkish Cup. The match should finish 2-2 at the end of 90 minutes with extra time to come.