'Nightingales' vs 'Lions' - Turkish giants head to head

Fenerbahce and Galatasaray meet to renew Turkish football’s fiercest rivalry on Nov. 10.

Always the most important fixture in the national football calendar, this weekend’s derby comes with extra importance given the two rivals’ league position. Fenerbahce sits comfortably on top of the league with 25 points after 10 matches, four points ahead of nearest challenger, Kas?mpasha.

Galatasaray is joint-third with Sivasspor on 19 points, and sees the game as a key chance to catch up in the title race after a poor start to the season. However, history is not on the Lions’ side.

Fenerbahce is unbeaten at home in derbies since a 2-1 defeat in 1999, and is determined to extend this run to a new milestone of 15 years.

With eight victories and one draw, Fenerbahce is also on a stunning nine-match unbeaten run in this year’s Super League campaign, after an opening weekend 3-2 defeat to Torku Konyaspor.

The architect of this run, coach Ersun Yanal, will be in the dugout in the derby after undergoing a minor heart operation on Nov. 8.

The club said that Yanal had undergone an angiography and had received a coronary stent.
The game at the Shükrü Saracoglu Stadium will start at 7 p.m., wrapping up match day 11.


/HurriyetDailynews/