Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray are set to renew their century-old rivalry this weekend. The two teams, which occupy the top two spots in the Turkcell Super League standings, will play for first place. Fener will seek to extend its nine-year unbeaten streak at home against Galatasaray, while the Lions will push to end that dismal run


It is going to be a wonderful weekend for football rivalries. Liverpool will welcome Manchester United in England, while Argentina’s bitter enemies River Plate and Boca Juniors will meet on Sunday. And in Turkey, Fenerbahçe will take on Galatasaray.
It may not be as infamous as the other rivalries, but as far as Turkey is concerned, there is no greater enmity than that between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray. However, the fact that the two teams are the country’s best performers at the moment will give another edge to Sunday’s big clash.
Fenerbahçe has been off to an incredible start in the Turkcell Super League with a record-breaking eight-week victory run. The Yellow Canaries’ magnificent run, which bettered their 45-year-old league record, was finally ended by Gaziantepspor last Sunday, but Fenerbahçe still tops the standings.
Until the two goals by Brazilian Julio Cesar that downed Fener at Gaziantep aside, the Yellow Canaries had only conceded three goals in the league, making the team the one of the best defending sides in Turkey. Fenerbahçe is tied with Kayserispor in the number of goals allowed (five) and finished five of nine games with a clean sheet.
Central defenders Diego Lugano and Fabio Bilica have meshed together well and they feel the support of a hardworking midfield led by Cristian Baroni and Emre Belözoğlu. In addition, goalkeeper Volkan Demirel has been giving some of his best performances of his career recently and makes Fener fans confident when opponents enter the box.
On the attack, Fenerbahçe counts on Alex de Souza, just as it has done for the last four years. With three goals and four assists, the Brazilian is orchestrating the Yellow Canaries’ scoring strategies. His impact is so obvious that many pundits believe the absence of Alex was the reason Fenerbahçe lost to Gaziantepspor.
Alex and striker Daniel Güiza have injury concerns, but coach Christoph Daum is choosing to field the players against Galatasaray, after giving them both a two-week rest.
“They have had enough time to recover,” the coach said to reporters on Friday. “Given that our other attackers Semih Şentürk and Kazım Kazım have injuries, we will need Alex and Güiza.”
Fenerbahçe has yet to lose to Galatasaray at its own Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in this decade, and Daum said that playing in front of its home crowd will be his side’s biggest advantage.
“Both teams are in good condition,” he said. “Our advantage is that we are playing in front of our fans. We are always very strong at home.”
The German added that control will be the key to winning the derby.
“We will try to control the game against Galatasaray,” he said. “We should not let the atmosphere cause us to make mistakes. We should be well organized on defense and try to convert our chances into goals.”
Fenerbahçe will try to orchestrate the game and play in a methodical way, but Galatasaray plays its best when it pushes the tempo. With a stunning attacking line that includes Elano, Harry Kewell, Arda Turan and Abdel Kader Keita supporting strikers Milan Baros and Shabani Nonda, Galatasaray has produced a dazzling 25 goals in nine games, seven more than the league’s second-best goal scorers.
A remarkable number of those goals came from strong second half performances after early Galatasaray scores, mainly due to the openings the opposition teams leave the Lions while trying to even the score.
However, Galatasaray has its flaws on defense. Coach Frank Rijkaard has tried many players alongside Servet Çetin, but the Lions are still allowing an average of one goal in every game.
With its productive attacking force, Galatasaray will try to end its dismal streak at Saracoğlu Stadium and Rijkaard is confident that streaks are made to be broken.
“There is a statistic that says we haven’t won there in the last nine years, but that will be an extra motivation for my players,” said the coach after his team’s 4-1 victory over Dinamo Bucharest on Thursday. “We will go there to win, just as we do in every game. We will play with an attacking mentality and want to win.”
The derby at Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium will kick off at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Hürriyet.