The 38th and final week of Turkey's Süper Lig season kicked off on Friday and by Sunday, teams will find out their ultimate rankings. Apart from Fenerbahçe, which clinched the second spot, the season has been a disappointing run for Turkish football's "big three," including Galatasaray and Beşiktaş.
This year's champion Trabzonspor will seek to snatch a few more points to its 81 at the top of the league with an away game against Medipol Başakşehir which sits on the fourth spot. Still in the euphoria of a league title in more than three decades which culminated in massive celebrations throughout the month, the Black Sea Storms wrapped up the season with the distinction of being a rare team not based in Istanbul to win top honors in years.
Süper Lig returned this season with restrictions still in place after the COVID-19 pandemic spoiled the fun for thousands accustomed to cheering their teams in stadia. Restrictions were gradually removed throughout the season with the number of cases dropping but the outlook remained bleak for Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, which boast the largest fan base in the Turkish football world.
Fenerbahçe ends the season in the eastern province of Malatya where it will take on last-place Öznur Kablo Yeni Malatyaspor in an away game on Saturday. Best of the big three this season, Fenerbahçe enjoys a streak with no losses in the past 13 games which garnered 33 points for Yellow Canaries. It hopes to keep the streak and accumulate more points ahead of third-place İttifak Holding Konyaspor, which has only a three-point gap with Fenerbahçe. Fenerbahçe still has the upper hand with nine more goals ahead of Konyaspor. Yellow Canaries will visit Malatya with six players missing, including Bright Osayi-Samuel booked for a yellow card and injured Dimitris Pelkas, Miguel Crespo, Kim Min-jae, Arda Güler and Nazım Sangare.
Sixth-place Beşiktaş will host Konyaspor, after an away victory against Göztepe. It will be the last test of the season for new coach Valerien Ismael, who helmed the team in the last three home games, with one win, one draw and one defeat. Black Eagles will miss Josef de Souza and Valentin Rosier booked for red cards earlier while Ersin Destanoğlu, Rıdvan Yılmaz and Welinton Souza will likely miss the game due to injuries.
As for Trabzonspor, the team pursues breaking its own points record by winning three points against Başakşehir, which sits in the fourth place with 62 points, one point ahead of Aytemiz Alanyaspor. The highest point record for Trabzonspor, at 82, was in the 2010-2011 and the 1995-1996 seasons. It may be an easy feat for Black Sea Storms which never lost an Istanbul side so far this season. It secured three wins and three draws against the big three so far.
At the bottom of the league, Gaziantep will host Çaykur Rizespor later on Friday, a swan song for the latter which is relegated to low-tier Spor Toto 1st League. Meanwhile, Altay, the second from the western city of Izmir to be relegated this season after Göztepe, will play the last match against Istanbul outfit Kasımpaşa on Saturday.