Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray derby clash to heat up title race

The race for the title in the Spor Toto Super League might get closer this weekend when Fenerbahçe hosts archrival Galatasaray in an Istanbul derby March 8.

Galatasaray tops the league standings with 51 points in 22 games, four points ahead of third-placed Fenerbahçe.

Be?ikta?, in second spot with 48 points, will be travelling to Sivasspor to play a few hours before the derby. The Istanbul club?s players will be hoping to clinch a victory and watch their opponents beat up each other in the evening.

Both Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray are highly-motivated for the game, to a point that the home team coach ?smail Kartal said, ?I?m so fired up for the match I could go on the pitch and play.?

?Everybody should know that Saraço?lu is our temple, there is no way out,? Kartal told reporters.

?We will win this game with the energy our supporters give us. There is no team we will not beat when the supporters and the players become untied as a whole,? he said.

Galatasaray will also try to beat the odds against Fenerbahçe. Although it has dominated the Istanbul derbies in the last four seasons, having won 12 of its last 21 games against Fenerbahçe and Be?ikta? and losing only three, it has also lost 12 of its last 15 games at Fenerbahçe and drew three.

The last time Galatasaray won at Fenerbahçe away was Dec. 22, 1999, but coach Hamza Hamzao?lu has set his eyes to break the jinx.

?We will not play for a draw to maintain the points difference, Galatasaray is not such a team, we will be there for a victory,? daily Hürriyet quoted Hamzao?lu as saying on March 6.

Kartal will have to fix the problems in Fenerbahçe?s offensive line. The team lost 2-1 to Akhisar Belediye and was held to a 1-1 draw at Torku...