Besiktas vs Ankaragücü match preview!

Ankaragücü travel to Istanbul this weekend as they take on an in form Besiktas who were handed another boost tonight as Goztepe won 2-0 at leaders Basaksehir who are doing their best to throw the league title away. The result also puts some more pressure on Ankaragücü to take something from the game as Goztepe have pulled off a big upset and have given themselves a fighting chance.

Besiktas are undefeated in 14 games since the return of the January break and go go within 3 points of Basaksehir with a win on Sunday. An incredible turn around for the Istanbul side who looked out of the title race back in December. Since Senol Gunes announced that he will be leaving at the end of the season to take over the National team, Besiktas have been the form team in the Super Lig.

Having watched a lot of Turkish football this season, Besiktas and Trabzonspor are the two most exciting teams to watch in terms of attacking football. They have so many talented technical players such as Lajic, Quaresma, Kagawa and Ozyakup who can create chances for Burak Yilmaz who has been a fantastic signing for them scoring 9 goals in 11 games.

The last time the two sides met Besiktas thumped Ankaragücü 4-1 in Kayseri where the game was moved due to the pitch at Yenikent. Sunday’s game will be even tougher and Mustafa Kaplan will need to change his game plan if he wants to take any points back to the Capital.

Mustafa Kaplan has been pretty consistent with his team line ups with the 4-3-3 formation since January and its worked with the team losing only 1 game in their last 9. Kaplan likes the team to play football and build from the back, but Sunday’s game he will need to look at a more conservative approach. Bringing Moulin or Moke in for Sacko might be a better option having an extra man in midfield as Besiktas will look to get men forward and exploit any gaps across the pitch.

Tyler Boyd has been excellent for Ankaragücü since signing in January but was kept quiet by a solid Konyaspor side last week as was Orgill. Both of them will be key to Ankaragücü taking anything from the game and will need to be clinical with any chances that come their way.

A lot has been said about the attacking play of Ankaragücü in particular Orgill and Boyd, but the back 5 of Altay, Kitsiou, Pazdan, Kulusic and Pinto have formed a brilliant partnership and have been the unsung hero’s. It’s easy to see why Kulusic was so highly regarded at Genclerbirligi as he is the ultimate pro and a fantastic defender. Pazdan has come over to Turkey from Poland and has settled in quickly and Ankaragücü will be hoping to sign him permanently in the Summer.

Besiktas on their day are the best side in the Super Lig going forward, but they have only kept 3 clean sheets since January and they were against struggling sides Goztepe, Bursa and Akhisar. If Ankaragücü can keep it tight at the back and nick a goal you never know, but it will be a huge ask and I would settle for a point before the game has started.