All eyes on Istanbul

Third-placed Fenerbahçe SK could be looking at their last chance of catching league leaders Galatasaray SK when the sides meet in Saturday's Istanbul derby.

Galatasaray on top
Galatasaray maintained their lead at the top of Turkey's 1. Lig when they won 1-0 against Malatyaspor last weekend. Despite a 2-1 win away against Yozgatspor, Fenerbahçe are still seven points behind their local rivals.

Lucescu bemoans injuries
Galatsaray coach Mircea Lucescu believes his side have not been helped by injuries in the build-up to this match. Sergen Yalçin and Ayhan Akman are missing and goalkeeper Farid Mondragón is doubtful."We have a lot of injured players," Lucescu said. "That makes me very upset. I really do not have players for midfield but I am trying to motivate the players who will replace the injured ones. I know that they will give everything they have got for the team."

New signings
Lucescu is also likely to be without his two new signings, Radu Niculescu and Jerson González, given the problems Galatasaray have had in securing licences for the pair from the Turkish Football Association (TFF).

Sas back for Cimbom
However, Cimbom striker Hasan Sas said on Friday that he would be fit for the derby after a leg injury prevented him from playing in Turkey's World Cup warm-up against Ecuador. Hasan was out of action in December following surgery on wrist tendons after he punched his fist through a window during a dressing-room row with team-mates. "I'm going [to Fenerbahçe] for victory and we're going to win," Sas said.

Fenerbahçe 'ready'
For their part, Fenerbahçe have no injury worries. "There will not be no changes in our playing style," Fenerbahçe coach Werner Lorant said. "My team is completely ready for the Galatasaray clash. We have trained hard during the week. I am used to this kind of high-tension match. The psychological state of the players is important. The only thing I want from my players is to do the best they can."

Fast and offensive
Lucescu is looking to the pace of Batista to unsettle the Fenerbahçe defence. At the other end, Lucescu considers striker Serhat Akin as Fenerbahçe's main threat. "Pay attention to him," warned the coach. "He is a menace."

Galatasaray win
In the first derby of the season, Galatasaray won 2-0 at the Ali Sami Yen stadium with Bülent Akin and Serkan Aykut scoring. The two leading Istanbul clubs have each won the Turkish league title 14 times since 1959. Last season Fenerbahçe ended Galatasaray's four-year winning streak.

Tension in the capital
A day ahead of the match, Istanbul police were taking heavy security measures because tension in the city is high. Over 4,000 security and police officers are believed to have been deployed in and around the Sükrü Saraçoglu stadium where Fenerbahçe expect an attendance of around 50,000.