Too much at stake in Fenerbahçe-Beşiktaş derby

ISTANBUL

Istanbul’s Beşiktaş and Fenerbahce will clash in a Turkish Super League derby on Feb. 24, with both sides having much at stake.

Fenerbahçe, struggling to escape from the releation line, was been stripped off all victory goals this season following a dramatic knockout from the UEFA Europea League due to a 3-1 away loss against Zenit away on Feb. 21.

Still, fans did not fail to support the team, which has produced 24 points in the first 22 games of the domestic league and sits on the relegation line.

Fans, who visited the training session of the team on Feb. 23, presented flowers to troubled Fenerbahçe coach Ersun Yenal, who took the post in mid-December last year, but failed to put an end to the consecutive point losses.

The fans also raced to take selifes with players, including Tolgay Aslan, who flew from Beşiktaş to the Yellow Canaries during the winter trasfer window and has much to offer in the derby, according to pundits.

Yenal had his latest win against Beşiktaş some 12 years ago, when he was heading then-first tier team Manisaspor.  His latest away win against Beşiktaş  - an epic 4-3 Turkey Cup final victory - was in 2003, when he was the head coach of Gençlerbirliği.

Third-spot Beşiktaş, for its side, wants stick to its winning track record in the second half of the season, four wins and one draw in the last five games.

A home loss might put an end to realistic hopes of the Black Eagles.

Japanese international Shinji Kagawa is expected to replace Adem Ljajic, who scored Beşiktaş’s winner against Yeni Malatyaspor last week but was suspended due to a yellow card, with another playmaker, Oğuzhan Özyakup, still being sidelined because of injury.