Turkey v Latvia background

Turkey need another three points in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying Group A as they welcome Latvia, with Fatih Terim's side two points adrift of the Netherlands and fourth in the section.

Previous meetings
• Valērijs Šabala's penalty earned Latvia a 1-1 draw when they met Turkey for the first time in Group A in October 2014.

• That was the countries' fifth encounter since they first met in 1924, when Turkey beat their hosts 3-1 in Riga. The sides' most recent head-to-head was a friendly in Duisburg, Germany, on 28 May 2013 in which Turkey let slip a 2-0 half-time lead to draw 3-3; Šabala scored Latvia's second and third goals in that game, his first goals for his country.

• Their most famous meetings came in the UEFA EURO 2004 play-offs when Aleksandrs Starkovs's men won 1-0 at home and then came back from 2-0 down against Şenol Güneş's team to draw 2-2 in Istanbul and make it to the finals of a major tournament for the first time. Current Latvia coach Marians Pahars featured as a late substitute in the second leg.

Disciplinary
• Turkey midfielder Gökhan Töre is a yellow card away from a suspension.

• Latvia defender Kaspars Gorkšs and midfielder Artūrs Zjuzins are both a booking away from a suspension.

Form guide
• Turkey have rallied since losing their opening two Group A games, taking eight points from a possible 12 in their subsequent fixtures. However, they can ill afford to drop any more points as they chase a ticket to France.

• Turkey have lost two of their last three competitive home games.

• Latvia have yet to win in Group A, but have drawn three times – against the Czech Republic and Kazakhstan, as well as Turkey.

• Latvia have not won in nine competitive away games (D3 L6) since a 1-0 success in Georgia on 2 September 2011.

Trivia and links
• Turkish clubs are unbeaten in five UEFA competition encounters with Latvian counterparts (W3 D2).

• The two nations have won one each of their three meetings in UEFA age-group tournaments.