Fenerbahçe fired up by cup chance

Fenerbahçe SK are aiming to end a 23-year wait for the Turkish Cup when they take on Beşiktaş JK in tonight's final in Izmir.

Long wait
While Fenerbahçe have not won the trophy since 1983 and are battling it out with Galatasaray SK for their third straight domestic title, Beşiktaş also have plenty of reasons for wanting success at the Atatürk Stadium. They have not lifted the cup since the 1997/98 campaign and have long been out of the running for UEFA Champions League qualification.

Quiet time
This will be the tenth cup encounter between the teams and the last final showdown came in 1988/89 when Beşiktaş prevailed 3-1 over two legs. The importance of this eleventh meeting was underlined by the lack of media contact from both clubs in the run-up to the game, with Fenerbahçe coach Christoph Daum and his Beşiktaş counterpart Jean Tigana staying particularly silent.

Anelka alone
Fenerbahçe will be without Brazilian forward Márcio Nobre, scorer of 17 goals in 28 league matches, and midfielder Kemal Aslan who has undergone knee surgery. Nicolas Anelka is expected to be a lone striker, with support from Alex and Tuncay Şanlı. For Beşiktaş, Egyptian midfielder Ahmed Hassan is likely to miss out after injuring his calf in a collision with İbrahim Üzülmez but right-back Ali Tandoğan has been included after recovering from a broken hand.