Trendyol Super Lig kicks off with Galatasaray facing Hatayspor

The 2024-25 season of Türkiye’s Trendyol Super Lig starts at 9 p.m. tonight, with reigning champions Galatasaray opening the season. In the first match of the season, Galatasaray will face Atakas Hatayspor.

The season opener, held at Rams Park Arena in Istanbul, will be officiated by Turgut Doman.

The yellow-red team, which broke records last season by finishing with 102 points, will compete for their third consecutive and 25th overall championship in the new season. If Galatasaray secures their 25th championship, they will become the first team to earn the right to wear a fifth star on their jersey, awarded for every five championships. Currently, Galatasaray is the only team with the right to wear a four-star jersey.

Two new transfers to Galatasaray may make their official debut in the yellow-red jersey if head coach Okan Buruk gives them the nod.

The yellow-red club signed Michy Batshuayi, Elias Jelert, and Gabriel Sara during the ongoing transfer period. While Batshuayi featured in the Turkcell Super Cup match against Besiktas, Jelert and Sara have yet to play in a match.

If selected by Okan Buruk, 21-year-old Danish right-back Jelert and 25-year-old Brazilian midfielder Sara will wear the yellow-red jersey for the first time.

Galatasaray, which played six matches in preparation for the new season, suffered defeat in four of them.

Okan Buruk’s squad opened the season on July 3 in Istanbul before heading to Austria on July 9 for their first preparatory camp. Training without their national players in Geinberg, near Linz, the yellow-red team participated in the “Summer Series Upper Austria” tournament hosted by Austrian side LASK.

In the first camp, Galatasaray lost 3-2 to LASK and 5-2 to German 2nd Bundesliga side Fortuna Dusseldorf but defeated Slovakia’s Trencin 4-1. After returning to Istanbul on July 18th and taking a two-day break, Galatasaray went to Irdning in the Liezen region on July 22 for their second camp.

National team players who participated in Euro 2024 joined this camp. During the second camp, Galatasaray played two friendlies, defeating Italian Serie A team Lecce 2-1 but losing 2-0 to Parma.

In their first official match of the season, Galatasaray lost 5-0 to Besiktas in the Turkcell Super Cup.

In these matches, Galatasaray scored 10 goals while conceding 17.

Hatayspor, one of the teams most affected by the Feb. 6, 2023, Kahramanmaras-centered earthquakes, was forced to play its matches outside of Hatay last season. The Mediterranean side finished the season in 15th place with 41 points.

Galatasaray and Atakas Hatayspor will meet for the ninth time in the Trendyol Super Lig.

Of the eight previous league matches between the two teams, Galatasaray won five, while Hatayspor claimed victory in three.

Probable 11’s

Galatasaray: Muslera, Ayhan, Nelsson, Bardakci, Köhn, Torreira, Sara, Ziyech, Mertens, Yilmaz, Icardi

Hatayspor: Kardesler, Corekci, Kilama, Yilmaz, Cemali, Massanga, Saglam, Hodzic, Bamgboye, Fernandes, Strandberg