David Flower
Dailysports's expert
Goztepe
Besiktas
The 32nd round of the Turkish championship will take place on Saturday at the "Gürsel Aksel" stadium in Izmir, where the local Göztepe will host Beşiktaş. I propose a bet on goals in this match with an excellent odds.
Match preview
The "Yellow-Reds" have firmly established themselves as a strong mid-table team in the Super Lig, but the team's main weapon is their dominance at home. "Gürsel Aksel" in Izmir is rightly considered the club's fortress: it is here that Göztepe collects the lion's share of points and looks maximally confident. This season, the team has only lost at home once and is among the top five teams in the championship for home performance. Out of 39 points earned, 31 have come from home matches, clearly indicating a huge imbalance between home and away games.
The support of the fans in Izmir is palpable — the local stands literally push the team forward and exert strong pressure on the guests. This is reflected in the statistics: 30 scored versus 11 conceded in 14 games — a sign of aggressive and productive football. The reliability of the defense is particularly noteworthy — in terms of goals conceded at home, Göztepe is second only to Gaziantep, who have conceded one less goal. In the last round, Göztepe lost away to Konyaspor – 0:1.
The "Black Eagles" are clearly stalling in the final stretch. Only one win in the last seven matches — and this despite the team already being knocked out of the Turkish Cup, losing to the same Göztepe. In the championship, things are also far from ideal: Beşiktaş is currently holding onto fourth place, which opens the door to the Conference League qualification, but the competition at the top of the table is so tight that any slip could cost them a place in European competitions.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's charges urgently need to stabilize their play and find balance to avoid burying the season completely. In terms of player selection, Beşiktaş is fine — the lineup commands respect, especially by domestic league standards. But personnel losses hit their ambitions: at least four players are on the injured list, and their absence is especially felt against the backdrop of the tight end-of-season schedule.
Probable lineups
- Göztepe: Lis, Bayir, Heliton, Günter, Sangare, Erdoğan, Yıldız, Djalma Silva, Victor Hugo, Juan Santos, Matsuki
- Beşiktaş: Destanoğlu – Svensson, Paulista, Topçu, Masuaku – Fernandes, Oxlade-Chamberlain – Rashica, João Mário, Muci – Rafa Silva
Match facts and head-to-head
- Göztepe has secured only one away victory in the championship, and it was against Beşiktaş in the first round – 4:2
- Göztepe defeated the "Eagles" in the Turkish Cup away in early April – 3:1
- The "both teams to score" bet has played in three out of five matches
Prediction
As we can see, Göztepe is a real nightmare for Beşiktaş this season. We believe that betting on a home win is risky, and our bet for the match is "Both teams to score" with odds of 1.67.
