Will Istanbul Win the Turkish Super Lig
We're at about the halfway point of the Turkish Super Lig season and the action is heating up. Istanbul (10-6-0) still haven't lost a match during the campaign, but they don't have much breathing room on the table.
Istanbul are playing great football. They have a 5-3-0 record at home and away. Istanbul has scored 31 goals, while only conceding 11 goals. They have a +20 goal differential, which is the second best mark in the league.
Besiktas (10-5-1) is second place in the Super Lig with 35 points – just one point behind Istanbul. Besiktas only has one loss this season and that came against Kasimpasa just before Christmas last month.
Kasimpasa is a team on the bottom-half of the table, so it was a tough loss for Besiktas, but they quickly bounced back with a win against Gaziantepspor and they're not back in action until January 15th 2017 against OSM.
Galatasaray (10-3-3) already have three losses this season, but they also have ten wins. Galatasaray is sitting in third place on the table with 33 points. That's thanks in large part to the potent offense the team has.
So far this season Galatasaray have scored 30 goals and conceded 16 goals. The team's +14 goal differential is good for fourth place in the league, but that's because the rest of the Super Lig teams below the top four have struggled.
Fenerbahce (9-4-3) are sitting in fourth place with 31 points – only five points behind the leaders. Fenerbahce is still in the title race with a little over half the season left to play, but they can't afford many more losses.
Thankfully for Fenerbahce, when they're not losing, they've been winning rather than drawing and that has kept them in range of Istanbul. Fenerbahce have the best goal differential in the Super Lig this season at +22 goals.
Fenerbahce have scored 34 goals and only conceded 12 goals. They have scored more goals than anyone else, but they still have three losses. The sporadic sloppy play will catch up to them down the stretch and they won't win the league.
Istanbul is clearly the team to beat in the Super Lig, but this race is going to come down to the wire. The best bet may to wager on Besiktas or Galatasaray to win the Super Lig in 2017, as they're both offering better odds.
I recommend a bet on Galatasaray, as they have the most potent offence in the league. They have three players ranked within the top 11 for scoring. Eren Derdiyok and Yasin Oztekin lead the way for Galatasaray with seven goals each.
If Galatasaray can avoid the poor losses that they've experienced throughout the first-half of the season, they'll be able to contend for the title. They'll be tested in a little over a week when they have to play Konyaspor.
The Super Lig will be fought between the top four teams, but who will win? Let us know in the comments who you're predicting will win it all. There's still plenty of time to get your futures bets in for which team will win the Super Lig.
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