Both ends of standings clash at Şükrü Saracoğlu

ISTANBUL

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In a clash of contrasting fortunes, the league leader Fenerbahçe visits bottom-ranking Ankaragücü in week 13 of the Spor Toto Super League.

Defending champion Fenerbahçe continues to set the pace in the league, but it is apparently lacking the edge that won the top title for the team last year. Fenerbahçe managed only two wins in its last six matches and also saw its 27-match unbeaten streak finished by Sivasspor on Nov. 4.
The Yellow Canaries, who have 25 points, will meet Ankaragücü at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium on Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. Earlier Galatasaray will visit Gençlerbirliği at 4 p.m.

The Lions keep chasing Fenerbahçe from a three-point distance and will try to pile the pressure on Fenerbahçe with a win in Ankara. But Gençlerbirliği is one of the tightest teams in the division when it comes to playing against the big sides.

Gençlerbirliği famously rallied to beat Beşiktaş 4-2 and went on to hold Fenerbahçe to a goalless draw in recent weeks.

On Dec. 3 Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray will play their last games before meeting to renew their rivalry Dec. 7.

Never lacking tension, the derby match has started to create controversy. On Dec. 2, the Professional Football Disciplinary Committee (PFDK) decreased Galatasaray forward Johan Elmander’s two-match ban to one. The Swedish forward brutally fouled Sivasspor’s Hayrettin Yerlikaya in round 12, but the PFDK ruled it was not deliberate. The decision cleared the towering forward to play against Fenerbahçe.

Also on Dec. 3, Gaziantepspor and Samsunspor will play hoping to get one over the other in a battle over relegation. Both face the axe as Samsunspor is 16th with 11 points, one point and one spot better than Gaziantepspor.

Dec. 4 will see the league’s surprise side Manisaspor visit Mersin İdman Yurdu. Manisa is performing well above expectations and sits third in the league, where it is level on points with Galatasaray.
Elsewhere it is Antalyaspor versus Kardemir Karabük, Kayserispor versus Istanbul BB and Bursaspor versus Eskişehirspor on Dec. 5.