Bursaspor meets Gençlerbirliği in tough battle

Two of the Turkcell Super League’s overachieving teams, Bursaspor and Gençlerbirliği, will meet at the Bursa Atatürk Stadium on Sunday.

Bursaspor sits third in the standings and is on a six-game unbeaten streak. Although its five-week winning run was snapped by a draw with Antalyaspor last weekend, the Crocs continue to be one of the best teams in the division.

Bursa won four of its five home games this year and plans to keep up with the league’s pacesetters Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray.

Another team that is performing above expectations, Gençlerbirliği, looks to get its early form back again. The team from the capital city started the season with a dazzling seven-week unbeaten stretch, but suffered a slump in form and won only once in the four games since.

The red and black side faced a dubious situation this week, with chairman İlhan Cavcav rumored to have met with Ankaragücü coach Hikmet Karaman, much to Gençlerbirliği coach Thomas Doll’s feelings of unsettlement.

A frustrated Doll labeled the meeting as “unethical and inappropriate” but the rift was solved after Karaman’s reported phone call with the German coach, saying that such a meeting never happened.

The game at the Atatürk Stadium kicks off at 8 p.m.