Galatasaray will be at loggerheads with archrivals Fenerbahçe in the eagerly anticipated Super Cup match Friday at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
As the defending champions of the Turkish Super Lig, the Lions aim to conclude the year on a high note by vanquishing the Yellow Canaries, the Turkish Cup holders.
The longtime adversaries are meeting for the second time in just five days, following their bland goalless encounter at Ülker Stadium on Sunday in the Süper Lig.
Both teams are now gearing up for a crucial rematch, vying for the 17th Super Cup title.
Over the last 10 encounters, the Lions have asserted dominance over the Yellow Canaries.
In these Süper Lig showdowns, Galatasaray secured victory four times, while Fenerbahçe managed two wins, with four matches ending in draws.
Impressively, Galatasaray maintained a clean sheet in six of these matches, conceding only six goals against Fenerbahçe's 12-goal offensive.
Galatasaray faces a challenge as two key players, Colombian defender Davinson Sanchez and the recovering Sergio Oliveira, will be sidelined due to injuries, depriving the Lions of their contributions in the crucial match.
Buruk's 4th Derby
Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk, in his fourth Fenerbahçe derby at the helm of the Lions, has prepared his team for this high-stakes encounter.
In the previous season, under Buruk, Galatasaray secured 3-0 victories in both derbies, with the most recent league encounter resulting in a 0-0 draw.
Galatasaray boast an impressive record of not conceding a single goal in the three derbies against Fenerbahçe, finding the back of the net six times.
While ranking as the second-best offensive team with 32 goals in 17 matches, the Lions have conceded a mere nine goals.
They have demonstrated defensive prowess by preventing opponents from scoring in 10 out of 17 league matches, securing their position as the team that conceded the fewest goals among the 20 league participants.
In the spotlight for the Super Cup match is Mauro Icardi, the prolific Argentine striker for Galatasaray.
With a total of 17 goals this season, including 12 in the Süper Lig and five in the UEFA Champions League, O Canito has been a consistent goal-scoring force.
Notably, his scoring spree includes matches against Beşiktaş, Başakşehir and Trabzonspor, but he was unable to break the deadlock in the recent 0-0 draw against Fenerbahçe.
Other notable goal contributors for Galatasaray include Kerem Aktürkoğlu with eight goals, Wilfried Zaha with six, and Dries Mertens and Hakim Ziyech with four each.
Rich history
The Super Cup, played in 11 cities across three countries over 17 years, has bestowed Galatasaray as the dominant force in the Super Cup, clinching six titles, except for one year in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016.
The other three major Turkish clubs, Fenerbahçe, Trabzonspor, and Beşiktaş, boast three, three, and two victories, respectively.
Konyaspor and Akhisarspor each secured one title outside the Big Four.
Abdullah Avcı follows with two victories, while Christoph Daum, Şenol Güneş, Önder Karaveli, Ismail Kartal, Hamza Hamzaoğlu and Jean Tigana have each led their teams to victory once.
The Super Cup, originally known as the Presidential Cup (1966-1980) and later the Head of State Cup (1981-1997), underwent a rebranding in 2006 after a hiatus, emerging as the Super Cup.
The competition has traveled across various cities and countries, with Istanbul hosting four matches and others held in Ankara, Konya, Erzurum, Kayseri, Manisa, Samsun, Frankfurt, Cologne, Duisburg and Doha.
The inaugural event in 2006 saw Germany hosting the first three editions, with Beşiktaş securing the first victory by defeating Galatasaray 1-0. In the 2020-2021 season final held in Qatar, Beşiktaş triumphed again, beating Antalyaspor 4-2 in a penalty shootout.
Aside from the glory, the financial stakes in the Super Cup are significant. The winning team stands to receive 2 million euros ($2.2 million), with the runners-up awarded 1.4 million euros.
Additionally, both teams will receive 800,000 euros each merely for participating in this grand football spectacle, adding an extra layer of excitement to an already thrilling encounter.