Sports Mole previews Monday’s Turkish Super Lig clash between Fenerbahce and Sivasspor, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Fenerbahce seek to reclaim first place in the Super Lig table when they welcome Sivasspor to the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on Monday.
The round 14 encounter could see the home side claim their seventh triumph in front of their fans while their visitors aim for another encouraging result to continue their impressive road record....Click Here To Continue Reading>>

Match preview
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Fenerbahce have had an impressive start to the season in Turkey but have struggled to replicate that in Europe lately, with Thursday’s 6-1 thrashing at Nordsjaelland leaving them third in their Europa Conference League group.

Ismail Kartal’s men seek a response to that disappointing continental performance and result when they host Sivasspor on Monday, keen to register another home victory.
While Adana Demirspor have accrued one more point than Fener in home games — 19-18 — both clubs have picked up six wins each in front of their fans.
The hitherto league-leading club returned to winning ways on home turf with a 2-1 triumph over Fatih Karagumruk on November 26, a much-needed success to banish the 3-2 disappointment against Trabzonspor at the start of the month.
With Galatasaray securing a 2-0 win at relegation-threatened Pendikspor on Saturday, the Yellow Canaries are three points behind their Istanbul rivals before taking to the field on Monday.
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As for Sivasspor, the mid-table side will hope to worsen the misery of their hosts by producing a top performance in Istanbul.
The precedent does favour Yigidos, who have lost only one of their recent four Super Lig visits to Fenerbahce, even if that was their last visit in November 2022.

That 1-0 loss ended Sivasspor’s three-game undefeated run (two wins) against Monday’s opponents, and they seek to stun their more illustrious hosts yet again in gameweek 14.
Despite a 3-0 reverse at Karagumruk a fortnight back, the Sivas-based club have more road points (10) than all but two Super Lig clubs — the league’s leading two sides (16) — and aim to return to winning in Istanbul.
Servet Cetin will hope his team find the back of the net on Monday, as both away losses have come in games where they fired blanks, and Yigidos are undefeated in the four matches they scored.

Fenerbahce Turkish Super Lig form:

Fenerbahce form (all competitions):

Sivasspor Turkish Super Lig form:

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Team News
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Fenerbahce have several injury issues, with Ferdi Kadioglu’s muscle injury expected to keep him out of action against Sivasspor.
Also sidelined with muscle issues are Mert Hakan Yandas, Miha Zajc, Fred and Rodrigo Becao, while Alexander Djiku (leg break), Serdar Aziz (ankle) and Lincoln (knee) are missing Monday’s fixture.
The away side do not have as many injury worries, with Burak Kapacak (thigh) and Modou Barrow (shoulder) not expected back for a few more weeks, while Bengali-Fode Koita is touch-and-go for round 14’s encounter.
Samu Saiz and Rey Manaj have netted four Super Lig goals apiece for Sivasspor, and the pair could play pivotal roles for Yigidos in Istanbul.
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:Livakovic; Muldur, Akaydin, Oosterwolde, Osayi-Samuel; Crespo, Yuksek; Tadic, Szymanski, Kahveci; Dzeko
Sivasspor possible starting lineup:Vural; Okumus, Camara, Osmanpasa, Ciftci; Konak; Njie, Charisis, Saiz, Bassan; Manaj

We say: Fenerbahce 2-1 Sivasspor
Regardless of the hurt from their heavy Conference League defeat on Thursday, Fenerbahce should return to winning ways on Monday with a hard-fought victory over one of the league’s best travellers.For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 2.5:data

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Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag praises central defender Harry Maguire for turning his Red Devils career around....Click Here To Continue Reading>>

Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has hailed Harry Maguire for his contribution to the team’s recent impressive results in the Premier League.
The Red Devils have won each of their last three league fixtures against Fulham, Luton Town and Everton, keeping clean sheets in all three games.
Maguire has been a vital player for the 20-time English champions in recent weeks, playing the full 90 minutes in each of their last six Premier League games, which have brought five wins.

The England international was heavily linked with a move away from Old Trafford over the summer, with West Ham United believed to have had an offer accepted for him.
However, the 30-year-old decided to stay at Man United to fight for his place, and the ex-Sheffield United youngster is now first pick in the middle of the defence.
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Maguire’s form is keeping Raphael Varane out of the side, and there is an argument that Ten Hag’s first-choice centre-back pairing will be Maguire and Lisandro Martinez once the latter has returned from injury.

Jonny Evans had been featuring alongside Maguire before picking up an injury, with Victor Lindelof now filling in as the left-sided centre-back.
Ten Hag has lavished praise on Maguire for ‘fighting back’ from a difficult period, hailing the centre-back’s “mentality” and “very important” contribution to the team’s recent success.
“Absolutely. Very important. And he fought back and he showed great mentality. He can be proud of himself. But as I say: we are in a season, we are in the right direction,” Ten Hag told MUTV.
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“Harry is in the right direction with this team. Now we make the next steps because we want to be successful and Harry is very ambitious. He wants to win trophies. So then, you know, you have to give every day your best.”

Maguire is now set to remain at Old Trafford, especially as there is huge uncertainty surrounding the futures of Varane, Evans and Lindelof.
Varane is believed to be keen to leave the Red Devils next year, with a number of clubs from Saudi Arabia said to be keeping a close eye on his situation.
Both Evans and Lindelof only have contracts until next June, meanwhile, although it is thought that a 12-month extension will be activated in the latter’s deal.
Scott McTominay is another player who was heavily linked with a move away from Man United over the summer, but he has also been vital for Ten Hag in recent weeks, coming up with four goals in all competitions.
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Newcastle United jump to fifth in the Premier League table with a deserved 1-0 win over Manchester United at St James’ Park.
Newcastle United made it three successive wins against Manchester United in all tournaments for the first time in over 100 years with a deserved 1-0 Premier League victory over the tepid Red Devils at St James’ Park.
A succession of chances came and went for Eddie Howe’s men in the first half, but Man United’s luck ran out when Anthony Gordon fired home early in the second half to sink Erik ten Hag’s team – who were second best all afternoon – although a concerning injury to Nick Pope partially marred the Magpies’ success.
While a decimated Newcastle side put out the exact same XI from their Champions League draw with Paris Saint-Germain, a handful of changes from Ten Hag saw Anthony Martial, Kobbie Mainoo, Diogo Dalot and the returning Marcus Rashford come into the fold....Click Here To Continue Reading>>

However, Ten Hag’s alterations did little to stem the flow of a rampant Newcastle, who saw almost all of the ball in the opening stages and came close in the 18th minute through Miguel Almiron, but Andre Onana was equal to his low effort.
Alexander Isak and Jamaal Lascelles both came close in the few moments that followed; the former had a strike deflected wide by Harry Maguire before Lascelles headed over the bar, which was then shaking in the 40th minute as Kieran Trippier’s free kick landed just an inch too high.

Newcastle’s shot counter displayed a whopping 14 as the referee’s whistle blew to signal half time, but Man United’s clean sheet remained intact, mainly thanks to their hosts’ wastefulness in the final third.
Any harsh half-time words from Ten Hag clearly did not have the desired effect, as Newcastle finally made one of their many forays forward pay in the 55th minute, where Gordon gave the hosts a fully merited lead.
The sloppy Red Devils were punished for losing the ball in the defensive third, allowing Trippier to flash a low ball across the six-yard box, where Gordon was on hand to tap home at the back post.
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The ex-Everton man’s opener saw him stretch his St James’ Park scoring streak to four successive Premier League matches, and Ten Hag responded by calling upon Antony and Rasmus Hojlund in place of the ineffective Martial and Rashford.
Man United’s alterations did little to spark any life into the meek visitors, who were indebted to Aaron Wan-Bissaka for making a crucial block to deny Lewis Miley in the 78th minute, but it was Fabian Schar’s turn to deny Sergio Reguilon from scoring a sensational volley with a terrific block of his own four minutes later.
As Pope dived to meet Reguilon’s blocked shot, though, the Newcastle number one injured himself and stayed down as Man United built their next attack, which was stopped in its tracks to allow the stricken Pope to receive treatment.

The Englishman was able to rise to his feet, but he was evidently struggling with his shoulder and slowly trudged off to be replaced by ex-Man United loanee Martin Dubravka.
The Newcastle number two had only been on the field a few moments before an Antony volley flew past him and into the back of the net, but Maguire – whom the ball took a nick off – was in an offside position, and the linesman’s flag came to the hosts’ rescue.
The Red Devils were granted nine minutes of additional time to try to find a leveller, but Newcastle stood firm to leapfrog their visitors into fifth spot in the table, bumping Ten Hag’s men down to seventh in the process.
Newcastle have four full days to rest up before a trip to Everton on Thursday, while Man United will return to their Old Trafford headquarters to meet Chelsea on Wednesday.
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