Antalyaspor’s good run to be tested against Beşiktaş

ANTALYA

Antalyaspor midfielder Uğur İnceman (front) vies for the ball against Trabzonspor Sol Bamba during a Super League game. İnceman will face his former team, Beşiktaş, in the big game of the round 12. AA Photo

Red-hot Antalyaspor will face a difficult test Nov. 18 as it faces an ascendant Beşiktaş in the biggest match of round 12 of the Spor Toto Super League.

High-flying Antalyaspor saw its five-match winning streak come to an end with a draw against Kasımpaşa last week, but the Mediterranean club’s six-game unbeaten run is still the league’s best. Antalyaspor has 22 points, putting it behind Galatasaray at the top of the table on goal difference alone.

Galatasaray opened the round 12 with a home match against Kardemir Karabükspor on Nov. 16.
In the last few weeks, Antalyaspor has upset some of the title contenders, beating Fenerbahçe 3-1 before providing an encore with a 2-1 win over Trabzonspor. Now, coach Mehmet Özdilek’s boys are ready to face another big team in Beşiktaş.

“We know that staying at the top is harder than getting there,” the coach told UEFA.com. “We have the experience and class to maintain our current position, though.”

What makes the two teams’ meeting even more sentimental is that Özdilek spent the majority of his career at Beşiktaş, scoring 130 goals in 387 games for the Black Eagles as an attacking midfielder.

Beşiktaş saw its three-match winning streak end with a 3-3 draw against Bursaspor last week, and will try to return to its winning ways. The Black Eagles, who are six points behind the joint leaders, want a win to remain in contention.

Fener at Eskişehir

Also on Nov. 18, Akhisar will meet Kasımpaşa, Kayserispor will take on Gaziantepspor and Bursaspor will play against Mersin İdman Yurdu.

Earlier in the weekend, Fenerbahçe will visit Eskişehirspor in another intriguing battle.
Fenerbahçe won two matches against Akhisar and Orduspor to climb into third spot, but the team’s away form has been far from convincing, with just one win in five matches.
On the other hand, Eskişehirspor has been almost perfect at home, winning all four matches after an opening-day defeat to Akhisar.

Also on Nov. 17, solid Gençlerbirliği will host Sivasspor.

Istanbul BB will play its first match under new coach Bülent Korkmaz when it takes on bottom-dweller Elazığspor.

Former Galatasaray coach Korkmaz was named the new Istanbul BB coach after Portugual’s Carlos Carvalhal resigned from his post.