On Sunday, the heat is on as the Spor Toto Super League's three title candidates take the field. At 4 p.m. Fenerbahçe will host Bursaspor, who has no shot at any European cups nor is it the relegation zone. The third placed Fenerbahçe has 63 points and must absolutely win with leader Galatasaray three points ahead of them. Galatasaray will travel to Akhisarspor, who is feeling relegation danger.
The match will kick off at 7:00 p.m. and both teams will play in a do or die game. If Galatasaray loses points the other title contenders Fenerbahçe and Başakşehir's hopes will rise. As for Beşiktaş, the Eagles' title dream took a heavy hit after they were beaten 2-0 by archrival Galatasaray last week.
Nevertheless they aim to finish the league as high as possible to win the right to participate in European Cups. Beşiktaş now has 62 points and rank fourth in the standings. They will host Kayserispor, who has no chance, on Monday. Meanwhile the derby match on Thursday evening between Beşiktaş and Fenerbahçe has been canceled as Beşiktaş refused to take the field.
The match referee waited about an hour for Beşiktaş to show up but the Istanbul club refused to take the field after a recent violent derby match.
On April 19, the Istanbul derby was called off due to violence after Beşiktaş Manager Şenol Güneş was injured by objects flung from the stands of Fenerbahçe's Ülker Stadium. The Ziraat Turkish Cup's semi-final second leg was postponed at the 57th minute and the Turkish Football Federation decided on Wednesday the match will continue where it left off on May 3, but with no fans in attendance.
In a statement released via Beşiktaş football club's official Twitter account last Thursday, the club said it had decided not to take the field. The Turkish Football Federation is likely to make a final decision about the match in the coming days. The first leg at Beşiktaş's home ground, Vodafone Park, had ended 2-2. Akhisarspor are the first squad to reach the cup final after eliminating Galatasaray.
