Turkey will continue their fight for a place in the 2022 World Cup when they welcome Gibraltar to Istanbul to play their ninth game of the World Cup qualifiers campaign.
Venue: Atatürk Olimpiyat (Istanbul)
Key Statistics
Turkey have won two of their last five WCQ games (D2, L1).
They have scored 19 times and conceded 15 goals in eight qualifier games.
The Crescent Stars are sitting in third place in Group G with 15 points.
Gibraltar have lost all of their qualifier games this campaign.
They have scored just three goals and have conceded 34 times in the qualifiers.
The visitors have won just once in their last 15 games (D3, L11) and have kept just three clean sheets in that period.
Head to head
Both teams have met just once in their history and Turkey won that fixture 3-0.
Latest Performances in all competitions
Turkey: W-D-L-W-D
Gibraltar: L-L-L-L-L
Turkey
Turkey are looking to book a place in the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 2002 and will fancy their chances against pointless Gibraltar in Istanbul.
With two straightforward games yet to play against Gibraltar and Montenegro, Turkey’s route to the World Cup finals is becoming clearer and easier, especially as the top two sides Norway and Netherlands are playing each other on the final day.
The hosts are sitting in third place, two points behind second-placed Norway. A victory here will move them closer to their goal and could even see them go into second place if Norway cannot win their game against Latvia.
Possible Turkey starting line-ups
Ugurcan Cakir (GK); Zeki Celik, Merih Demiral, Caglar Soyuncu, Mert Muldur; Ozan Tufan, Berat Ozdemir; Cengiz Under, Hakan Calhanoglu, Kerem Akturkoglu; Burak Yilmaz.
Gibraltar
Gibraltar are yet to get going in their World Cup qualifiers and are heading into this game without a point in eight group games.
They have become Group G whipping boys and have conceded the most goals at this stage of the world cup.
They were beaten 6-0 by the Netherlands last time out and look like they are in for another chastening loss to Turkey who beat them 3-0 in the reverse fixture.
Even if they cannot win, the minnows will be looking to at least register their best-ever scoring WCQ campaign by netting just one more goal across their two remaining matches.
They look solid on their road trips and have scored each of their three WCQ goals away from home. Surprisingly, only the Netherlands have kept the minnows scoreless on the road so far.
However, whilst the visitors can be backed to sneak a goal, their defensive record away from home is a point of huge concern, as they have conceded at least three goals in 12 consecutive WCQ games.
Possible Gibraltar starting line-ups
Jamie Robba (GK) Scott Wiseman, Louie Annesley, Roy Chipolina, Jayce Olivero, Joseph Chipolina; Liam Walker, Kian Ronan, Mohamed Badr Hassan, Julian Valarino; Jamie Coombes.
Prediction
Turkey 4-1 Gibraltar
