Trabzonspor vs Istanbul Basaksehir Odds & Pick Matchday 26: 1st vs 2nd In Turkey’s Süper Lig

• Just nine games to go in the battle for the 2019-20 Turkish Super League
• The top two, Trabzonspor vs Istanbul Basaksehir, clash this weekend
• Read on for our preview of the game, odds and the best bet

Amidst the mayhem caused by  COVID-19, the Turkish Super League continues and tomorrow sees a top vs second clash on Matchday 26, when Trabzonspor meets Basaksehir at the Medical Park Stadium in Trabzon on Sunday (March 15). Kickoff is scheduled for 9am ET.

In what promises to be an enthralling clash with, unusually, the eyes of the world on it, we’ll preview the game and take a look to see if we can find the value bets.

Trabzonspor vs Istanbul Basaksehir Odds

All odds taken Mar 13.

Nothing Between The Two Teams

With so little to choose between these two teams, it’s unsurprising the bookies are also struggling to separate them,  but Trabzonspor’s home advantage has earned them a very slight, 60-betting-point edge. This is, however, one of those games that will hinge on the finest of margins.

For the home team, this season has gone even better than planned and they’ve successfully been able to build on a credible fourth-place finish last season, which saw them end the season just six points behind the eventual champions, Galatasaray.  A successful summer saw Trabzonspor add some quality to their squad and this has been translated into some excellent performances on the pitch.

Season-Defining

Despite changing manager mid-season – Hüseyin Çimşir replaced Ünal Karaman at the turn of the year – Trazbzonspor have maintained their title challenge and after 25 games they lead the pack on goal difference with 52 points, playing an exciting, attacking brand of soccer.

Tomorrow’s game is potentially a season-defining one for them and while they will be keen to win, they will be even keener not to lose the game, mainly because as things stand they have a better goal difference than Basaksehir. A double-whammy for them would be losing AND seeing their six-goal advantage being reduced.

But they head into the match with loads of confidence, having lost just one of their last 15 league games, a run that includes 11 wins. If they can play their own game and not be knocked off their stride by their opponents, they should get at least a draw.

Trabzonspor vs Istanbul Basaksehir Head-to-Head Stats

Basaksehir Lavishly Funded

Istanbul Basaksehir meanwhile, has had an equally impressive season and are only second by virtue of an inferior goal difference. While not previously regarded as one of Turkey’s big clubs, they have some very rich and very ambitious owners who have pumped massive levels of investment into the club. Having finished runners-up last season, they are definitely looking to go one better this.

The incentive of knowing a win tomorrow will send them to the top is massive and having lost just one of their last 23 league matches, they could hardly be better prepared. They have a squad crammed full of quality, currently crossed with that priceless commodity called momentum.

They come into this one off the back of five straight wins and, unlike Trabzbonsor, will not be overly content to emerge with a draw. They’ll be looking to attack but still without overcommitting.

Both Teams With Too Much To Lose

So, the scene really is set for a cracking encounter between Super Lig’s two outstanding teams. With just eight league games left after this one, if there is a winner, that team will definitely be in pole position to win the title, and given these two have scored a combined total of 106 league goals, everything points to this one being full of goals and action.

For Trabzonspor, this season has gone even better than planned and they’ve successfully been able to build on a creditable fourth-place finish last season

But, while the stats may point to it being swashbuckling and end-to-end, what’s at stake may well dictate that both sides adopt an untypical cautious approach. Both teams, and managers, will conclude that defeat could potentially end their title challenge and so neither will want to be gung-ho at the expense of leaving themselves vulnerable at the back.

If there is to be a winner, I have a feeling that home advantage (even if played behind closed doors) could be decisive, but my overriding feeling is that with so much at stake, these two could end up cancelling each other out, as they did in their meeting four months ago, which ended 2-2. It could potentially be goal-less but am more inclined to go with a 1-1 score.

Pick: Draw (+240)