Süper Lig, Tuesday, 30.05.2023
Does the Turkish Süper Lig get its new champion on the penultimate matchday? The record champions could finally be crowned on Tuesday, a few days before the final match against arch-rivals and title rivals Fenerbahce!
Actually, there is no greater motivation, were it not for the opponent, rated by Bet3000 as a glaring underdog, who have been very safe in their own stadium for months. In my Ankaragücü Galatasaray tip, I will now reveal why I think the Lions will have to do absolute hard work!
Five points ahead with two games to go? Slowly but surely, Galatasaray fans are preparing for the much-awaited championship celebration! But where do they most want to celebrate?
The fixture list foresees a trip to Ankara for the penultimate game. If they don’t win here and the competition earns a three-goal win, the decision won’t be made until a few days later.
And how? That’s right, at home against Fenerbahce! Theoretically, the players of the Turkish record champions could well decide whether they want to play it safe or rather plan a wild derby party.
I would like to send a very interesting fact about this right away, because: Even if everyone wants to show an unconditional will to win on Tuesday, the three-goal victory is not automatic.
In terms of personnel, this means that six regulars are threatened by suspension, especially top scorer Mauro Icardi! It would be a shame if they were to lose against Ankaragücü and one or two of them were to receive a yellow card.
Nicolo Zaniolo will be missing anyway after receiving a red card. Galatasaray are basically playing a very successful season, having won 25 of their 33 games. With 26 goals conceded, the defence is also the best in the competition.
After a slight wobble and two games without a win, including a 1:3 defeat at Besiktas, Gala recovered and celebrated three wins in a row against Basaksehir, Istanbulspor and Sivasspor.
In view of the presumably imminent championship, no one was bothered that the results (1-0 and twice 2-0) were not particularly spectacular. Two penalties were among them, Mauro Icardi scored five times!
The newcomer only played 90 minutes for the first time in mid-October, and now he is the best Lion with 19 goals and seven assists. He was absent through injury in the first leg against Ankaragücü, but now he wants to score against this opponent as well.
At Bwin, a goal from him would make it to odds of 1.80; if he scores to make it 1:0, the odds would be much higher at odds of 4.50. It should be said: In five of the last six games in which he was successful, he scored the 1:0!
In January there had been a close 2-1 against Ankaragücü, but in fact the last two away games ended without a point at all! For five direct duels there has been a maximum of one goal difference, so the underdog has nothing to give away.
The yellow-blacks are five points ahead of the first relegation place, but they still have three games to play. The remaining three opponents are among the top 8, so the remaining programme is not easy.
With only one defeat from the last six games, it looks very consistent, and Ankaragücü is a team that almost always keeps up. Only twice have they lost by more than two goals, and nine of their 16 defeats have been by a very narrow margin.
The club has now been unbeaten for five home games, the only clear home defeat was a 3-0 loss to Fenerbahce in the autumn of 2022, and that only because a last-second goal was scored in their own box.
Galatasaray has everything in its own hands and could finally become champions on Tuesday. Most recently, the Lions relied on Mauro Icardi, who single-handedly provided the points with his goals.
Ankaragücü is not a team that is easy to beat. They almost always keep up well, even against the best in the league. In addition, I could see in my analysis that there has been no defeat for five home games.
Since nerves could come into play with the guests and the promoted team usually gets very close results, I opt for a handicap bet and say:
A 2:0 handicap is enough for Ankaragücü to win!
