2020 could be basically described as a nightmare for everyone across the world, with lives destroyed as a result of the horrible contagion that has wreaked havoc globally since breaking out in China sometime in 2019. Football has not escaped this, with many leagues in Europe having to abruptly go on pause to avoid COVID-19 from rampaging through their teams and causing harm to players, staff, and fans.
In Turkey, the Süper Lig was officially put on pause on March 19th as the country's government, like many in Europe and in other parts of the world, decided to suspend sporting activities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. However, despite numerous people being sickened and many losing their lives, lockdown restrictions across Europe are slowly being lifted as many governments are hopeful that their countries have finally turned a corner.
Germany's Bundesliga became the first major European league to resume action as things got back up and running on May 16th. All eyes, of course, were on how things panned out, and so far, there does not appear to be any major issues. Subsequently, other leagues, including the Süper Lig have opted to re-start play, with live action getting underway on Friday, June 12th. Fans will be treated to a double-header as league leaders Trabzonspor travel to face Göztepe, while Fenerbahçe will lock horns with Kayserispor.
Match of the weekend: Göztepe-Trabzonspor
League leaders Trabzonspor will resume their domestic campaign with an away clash against Göztepe as they aim to stay ahead of the chasing pack. Although they are unbeaten in their last 11 Süper Lig matches, Trabzonspor ended up losing the reverse fixture when the two sides met back on November 2nd, despite outshooting their opponents by 21 to six.
Led by the duo of Alexander Sorloth and Anthony Nwakaeme, who have scored 29 goals between them (which is nearly half of the team's total), Trabzonspor will nonetheless be still fancying their chances at picking up a win here. They've scored at least two goals in their last four away matches against Göztepe, but overall, despite their firepower up front, have struggled to keep things tight at the back, where they have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last six Süper Lig games.
Göztepe, for their part, come into this game having ending their four match winless streak with a much-needed win over Rizespor just before the pause. Naturally, however, they will need to up their game if they want to be able to do a double over a Trabzonspor side who will be seeking revenge and more important, valuable points in order to stay ahead of the chasing pack in a very tight title race.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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Talking points ahead of matchday 27
Will the re-start bring better fortunes for Fenerbahçe?
Fenerbahçe were in awful form before the Süper Lig was forced to halt play in mid-March. They haven't won a match since January 25th, when they beat title aspirants İstanbul Başakşehir 2-0, and at that point, they were second in the table. However, it has been downhill ever since, and now they find themselves at seventh spot. It's no surprise, then, that the club's board opted to part ways with coach Ersun Yanal and bring in caretaker boss Tahir Karapınar in a frantic bid to stem the team's downward spiral, as they've now gone from title contenders to looking like they are dangerously out of the running for even a European football spot.
Still, all isn't lost just yet. They sit just four points behind Beşiktaş, who are in fifth place and occupy a berth for a Europa league place - albeit through the play-offs. And Fenerbahçe may have been given a life-line in the form of their next opponent: Kayserispor, who sit rock bottom of the table. That being said, their upcoming competitors ironically are in better form than them at the moment, with three wins in their last five games, so this game could actually be a lot trickier than the hosts anticipate.
That's especially considering that Kayserispor are involved in a desperate bid to avoid relegation to the 1.Lig at the end of this campaign. And Kayserispor have already beaten Fenerbahçe earlier this season, so they will definitely be relishing the chance to do a rare double over a side who were in free-fall before play came to an abrupt pause due to COVID-19.
Galatasaray facing a really tough test as they chase a third straight league title
The Lions are gunning to defend their title for a third straight time, but come into the league re-start in third spot, behind league leaders Trabzonspor and ambitious side İstanbul Başakşehir. Of the two, İstanbul Başakşehir is especially notable as they only began playing under their current banner in 2014, yet have already finished as runners-up in the top flight on two occasions. In short, they are quite similar perhaps to Germany's RB Leipzig, who were only founded in 2009, yet have burst onto the scene and have quickly made waves among the more established clubs.
Making things difficult for Galatasaray is the fact that defensive duo Christian Luyindama and Marcao are both out injured, meaning that Fatih Terim will have to improvise in terms of his central defensive options. The Lions have dropped points in their last two games, including a recent stalemate against Beşiktaş and will need to win all three points in their upcoming clash with relegation-threatened Rizespor, who have picked up just one point from their last five matches.
Team news ahead of matchday 27 - Who's definitely out, in doubt, and suspended?
Here are the key players who are definitely missing due to injury, suspension, or could be in doubt due to fitness or other issues and thus could miss out on upcoming matches for their respective sides heading into matchday 27:
Trabzonspor: Kamil Cörekci (Muscular issue); Ahmet Canbaz (Knee injury); Yusuf Sari (Knee injury)
İstanbul Başakşehir: No injury or suspension concerns
Beşiktaş: Burak Yilmaz (Suspended); Georges-Kevin N'Koudou (Hamstring injury)
Fenerbahçe: Hasan Ali Kaldirim (Suspended); Vedat Muriqi (Calf injury); Max Kruse (Ankle injury); Sadik Ciftpinar (Knee injury)
Galatasaray: Atalay Babacan (Suspended); Christian Luyindama (Knee injury); Marcão (Ligament injury)
Matchday 27 listings
Below are the nine fixtures set to take place on matchday 27:
Friday, June 12th:
11:00 PST/14:00 EST/20:00 CET/21:00 EET - Göztepe vs Trabzonspor
USA: No channel available for this match
Australia: beIN Sports 1, beIN SPORTS 3, Kayo Sports, beIN Sports Connect
Canada: No channel available for this match
France: beIN SPORTS CONNECT, beIN Sports MAX 5, Free
Turkey: Digiturk Play, beIN CONNECT Turkey, beIN Sports 2 Turkey
11:00 PST/14:00 EST/20:00 CET/21:00 EET - Fenerbahçe vs Kayserispor
USA: FuboTV, Sling TV, Fanatiz USA, beIN SPORTS CONNECT, beIN SPORTS XTRA
Australia: Kayo Sports, beIN Sports Connect
Canada: beIN SPORTS CONNECT Canada
France: beIN Sports MAX 6, Free, beIN SPORTS CONNECT
Turkey: beIN Sports Turkey, beIN CONNECT Turkey, Digiturk Play
Saturday, June 13th:
08:30 PST/11:30 EST/17:30 CET/18:30 EET - İstanbul Başakşehir vs Alanyaspor
USA: No channel available for this match
Australia: No channel available for this match
Canada: No channel available for this match
France: No channel available for this match
Turkey: beIN Sports 2 Turkey, beIN CONNECT Turkey, Digiturk Play
11:00 PST/14:00 EST/20:00 CET/21:00 EET - Beşiktaş vs Antalyaspor
USA: beIN SPORTS XTRA
Australia: beIN Sports 1, beIN SPORTS 3, beIN Sports Connect, Kayo Sports
Canada: No channel available for this match
France: beIN SPORTS CONNECT, Free, beIN Sports MAX 5
Turkey: beIN Sports Turkey, Digiturk Play, beIN CONNECT Turkey
11:00 PST/14:00 EST/20:00 CET/21:00 EET - Yeni Malatyaspor vs Kasımpaşa
USA: No channel available for this match
Australia: No channel available for this match
Canada: No channel available for this match
France: No channel available for this match
Turkey: beIN Sports 2 Turkey, beIN CONNECT Turkey, Digiturk Play
Sunday, June 14th:
08:30 PST/11:30 EST/17:30 CET/18:30 EET - Gençlerbirliği vs Konyaspor
USA: No channel available for this match
Australia: No channel available for this match
Canada: No channel available for this match
France: No channel available for this match
Turkey: beIN Sports 2 Turkey, beIN CONNECT Turkey, Digiturk Play
11:00 PST/14:00 EST/20:00 CET/21:00 EET - Gaziantepspor vs Ankaragücü
USA: No channel available for this match
Australia: No channel available for this match
Canada: No channel available for this match
France: No channel available for this match
Turkey: beIN Sports 2 Turkey, beIN CONNECT Turkey, Digiturk Play
11:00 PST/14:00 EST/20:00 CET/21:00 EET - Rizespor vs Galatasaray
USA: beIN SPORTS XTRA
Australia: Kayo Sports, beIN SPORTS 2, beIN Sports 1, beIN Sports Connect
Canada: No channel available for this match
France: beIN SPORTS CONNECT, beIN Sports 2, Free
Turkey: beIN CONNECT Turkey, Digiturk Play, beIN Sports Turkey
Monday, June 15th:
11:00 PST/14:00 EST/20:00 CET/21:00 EET - Sivasspor vs Denizlispor
USA: No channel available for this match
Australia: No channel available for this match
Canada: No channel available for this match
France: No channel available for this match
Turkey: beIN Sports Turkey, beIN CONNECT Turkey, Digiturk Play
If you do not live in the US, Australia, Canada, France, or Turkey, or live in a EET/CET/EST/PST timezone, please check the schedule below for geo-targeted kick-off times as well as live broadcast listings for each of the Süper Lig matchday 27 fixtures:
Match details, result and original broadcast info
Fenerbahçe 2 - 1 Kayserispor
June 12, 2020 2:00pmÜlker Stadyumu Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Spor Kompleksi (İstanbul)This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
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