Fenerbahce Istanbul v Besiktas Istanbul Betting Tips [20 December 2021]

Rivals Fenerbahce and Besiktas face off once again for this Istanbul derby on matchday 17 of the Turkish Super Lig. Both teams have had disappointing seasons so far, with the Turkish giants expected to compete for the title every year. Fenerbahce currently sit fifth in the table on 27 points and have a three point lead over Besiktas who sit seventh. Both sides trail leaders Trabzonspor by double digit points and they face an uphill battle if they want to get themselves back in the title race. Fener are the hosts for this one with the match taking place at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium and they will hope their strong home form is enough to see them through. Fenerbahce are coming off a 3-2 away loss to Gazişehir Gaziantep while the visitors come into this match on the back of a 4-2 home win against Kayserispor. 

The old football cliche, “form goes out the window” for local derbies has rang somewhat true in this fixture. The home side has only managed to win this fixture four out of the last 10 times, with the away side winning once and the match ending in a draw five times. Besiktas appear to be riding the new manager bounce as they have recently snapped an awful streak where they lost seven out of eight in all competitions - with a 5-0 away loss to Dortmund the match that saw their previous manager, Sargan Yalchin, resign. The side responded immediately with a win in their last match and they will continue with U19 manager Karaveli for the time being. Fenerbahce are experiencing their own struggles at the moment and the pressure is mounting on manager Vitor Pereira to get a result here. The hosts have only a single win over their last five matches in all competitions and need a positive result against their rivals.

Matches between the Istanbul sides are often tight, contentious affairs. Given both sides recent struggles and the importance of the match, there is a good chance this one ends in a draw with 1-1 a likely result.