Trabzonspor v Istanbul Basaksehir Betting Tips [26 December 2021]

Trabzonspor will welcome Istanbul Basaksehir to the Senol Gunes stadium for a pivotal matchday 19 clash in the Turkish Super Lig. The hosts top the table and have recovered strongly after losing their first match of the season against Antalyaspor, winning their following two matches against Hatayspor and Altay. Trabzonspor now have 45 points with 14 wins, three draws and a single defeat - restoring their lead to 12 points over second place Konyaspor, who have a game in hand. Visitors Basaksehir have been on an excellent run of form since appointing current manager and well-known Turkish international Emre Belozoglu. The side has a record of eight wins, two draws and just one defeat under his leadership - a marked improvement over a side that lost six of their first eight matches, which ultimately cost former manager Kocaman his job. Basaksehir now find themselves third in the table, 13 points behind the leaders but only one point behind Konyaspor and are in a good position to battle for Champions League qualification. 

Both teams are in excellent form which makes this a tough match to pick a winner for. Trabzonspor have not lost at home all season and boast the best home goal differential in the league with +11, while Basaksehir haven’t lost an away match since Emre took over, taking 10 points from their last four trips. Trabzonspor are clearly the best team in the division and have looked unplayable at times, putting themselves in a great position to win their first Super Lig title since the 1983-84 season, yet it's risky to jump in front of Basaksehir’s excellent form under Emre. Backing goals looks like the way to go in this one and we are going to target both teams to score as our bet. The visitors have only failed to find the net once with Emre as manager and have scored in all four of their away matches under his leadership - averaging just over two goals during the 11 game stretch. Meanwhile the hosts have scored in every league game this season and are the highest scoring team in the Super Lig, averaging exactly two goals a game. 

This is an important match if Basaksehir want to keep their slim title hopes alive. Trabzonspor’s lead could flip between nine or 16 points if either side finds a win and with both teams in great form, this should make for an intriguing match. Back both teams to find the net in this one with two sides who have had zero trouble scoring goals in recent matches.