Sports Mole previews Saturday's World Cup qualification clash between Bulgaria and Turkey, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Turkey will be bidding to bounce back from an incredible defeat in Group E when they continue their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign with a clash against Bulgaria on Saturday.
The visitors suffered a 6-0 loss to Spain last time out, which saw them drop to third spot in the section on three points, while Bulgaria are bottom on zero points, having lost their opening two qualification fixtures.
Match preview
Bulgaria have lost both of their Group E matches 3-0, going down to Spain in their section opener on September 4 before suffering the same outcome in their next game against Georgia three days later.
As a result, it has been a tough start to their qualification process, with zero points leaving them bottom of the section, so there is pressure on Aleksandar Dimitrov's side to secure all three points this weekend.
The Lions have played in the finals of seven World Cups, famously finishing fourth at the 1994 competition, but they have not managed to qualify for the tournament since 1998.
Spain are the overwhelming favourites to finish at the top of this section, and it will take some effort from Bulgaria to finish ahead of Georgia and Turkey when it comes to second spot.
Bulgaria have faced Turkey on 23 previous occasions, and they have posted seven wins, with their last success coming in a friendly back in August 2005.
Turkey were 4-0 winners over Bulgaria when the pair last locked horns in a friendly in June 2015, but this will be the first competitive meeting between the two sides since 1977, when the pair met in the Balkan Cup.
Interestingly, these two countries have never met in a qualification campaign for a major tournament, so history will be made on Saturday, and Turkey will be under pressure to bounce back from a shock result last time out.
Vincenzo Montella's side opened their qualification campaign with a 3-2 victory over Georgia, but they then suffered a 6-0 defeat to Spain, with the result leaving them third in the section on three points.
Turkey have not actually qualified for the finals of a World Cup since 2002, when they finished third, but the national side have been present in the last three European Championship finals.
Montella's team reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2024, and due to the quality in their squad, it would be a surprise if they were unable to claim a top-two position in Group E.
Bulgaria World Cup Qualifying - Europe form:
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Bulgaria form (all competitions):
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Turkey World Cup Qualifying - Europe form:
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Turkey form (all competitions):
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Team News
Bulgaria are once again expected to have Vladimir Nikolov at the tip of their attack for Saturday's World Cup qualification fixture against Turkey, with the striker going in search of his first goal for the national side.
Head coach Dimitrov is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack from the three-goal defeat to Georgia despite the disappointing nature of the performance.
Aberdeen's Dmitar Mitov is the most experienced goalkeeper in the squad with 11 caps, but it is expected that Svetoslav Vutsov will be given the nod between the sticks here.
As for Turkey, head coach Montella is expected to give the players that started against Spain last time out the opportunity to redeem themselves in this match.
Kerem Akturkoglu has scored 14 times for his country and is again set to feature in the final third of the field, while there will also be starts for Arda Guler and Kenan Yildiz.
Hakan Calhanoglu will again captain the team from the middle of midfield, while Merih Demiral should again be joined by Abdulkerim Bardakci at the back.
Bulgaria possible starting lineup:
Vutsov; Minkov, Dmitrov, Bozhinov, Nedyalkov; Kraev, Tsenov; Petkov, Milanov, Kirilov; Nikolov
Turkey possible starting lineup:
Cakir; Muldur, Demiral, Bardakci, Elmali; Calhanoglu, Yuksek; Akgun, Guler, Yildiz; Akturkoglu
We say: Bulgaria 1-2 Turkey
Bulgaria are capable of making this a tricky match for Turkey, who were stunned last time out by Spain. It would not be a surprise to see a draw, but we have a feeling that Turkey will be able to claim an important three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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