Beşiktaş faces Trabzon challenge to defend top spot

Turkey’s Spor Toto Super League leader Beşiktaş will face Trabzonspor, the Black Sea giant that has enjoyed a comeback under new coach Ersun Yanal, in the game of the week on Dec. 7 in the Central Anatolian province of Konya.  

A Ziraat Turkey Cup game against third division team Sarıyerspor on Dec. 4 turned out to be fine training for his club on the eve of the Trabzonspor match, Beşiktaş coach Slaven Bilic said in his post-game interview.

The Black Eagles started their cup campaign with four goals on Sarıyerspor.

“Two teams that have achieved good results in the Europe League will face off,” Bilic said about the upcoming match. “Trabzonspor had some trouble at the beginning of the season, but today they are in good shape.”

However, the coach said he believed in the self-confidence and performance of his players.
Trabzonspor trashed visiting Gençlerbirliği last week 4-1 to win its second game in a row under Yanal, who replaced Bosnian coach Valid Halilhodzic.  

Paraguayan Oscar Cardozo, who scored a hat-trick against Gençler, climbing to second on the list of top scorers in the league, should be Trabzon’s largest threat on the Beşiktaş goal.

However, his counterpart, Demba Ba, has been shouldering Beşiktaş, both in league and UEFA games, and Beşiktaş striker Mustafa Pekdemek will miss the Trabzon battle due to a red card received in the Karabük game.

Trabzon, which suffered a draw against third division underdogs Keçiören Gücü, is also assertive. A club spokesperson told Anadolu Agency he had confidence for a win “if the referee does not make big mistakes.”

“Mete Kalkavan is a young referee,” he said, “He does not have experience in such big...