Trabzonspor looks to extend league lead

ISTANBUL

Turkish Süper Lig leader Trabzonspor will be out to extend its stay atop the standings when it visits Alanyaspor on Feb. 20 for a Week 26 game.

The Black Sea side leads the league by 12 points ahead of second-placed Konyaspor thanks to a 1-0 win last weekend over its closest rival in a season usual title chasers are far from their glory days.

Fenerbahçe sits in the sixth spot trailing the leader by 20 points, while Beşiktaş is in the eighth spot and Galatasaray is in the 13th place just three points above the relegation zone.

Trabzonspor coach Abdullah Avcı is happy with his side’s current status but still sounded cautious regarding winning the trophy after the Konyaspor game.

“I don’t think they are realistic,” Avcı said in a post-game press conference when asked about the general consensus in the football community that Trabzonspor will not lose the title.

“This is a game that always requires you to do better,” he said.

“Trabzonspor will always try to do better, and it will need to be better in the upcoming games.”

Fenerbahçe, meanwhile, will host Hatayspor on Feb. 20 with fresh wounds from a 3-2 loss at home to Slavia Prag in a Europa Conference League playoff game on Feb. 17.

“It’s not over yet,” Fenerbahçe coach İsmail Kartal said after the loss. “We think we can beat this team in the return leg and advance.”

He said that the club wants to go through a busy schedule without much damage.

“We are in a very busy match traffic,” Kartal said. “Unfortunately, the sick, injured and suspended players hamper our plans. We try to use our players in rotation in the best way possible to avoid more injuries.”

Elsewhere in Week 26 games in the Süper Lig, Beşiktaş will host Altay on Feb. 19 and Galatasaray will travel to Göztepe on Feb. 21.