Cocu’s fate to be decided after derby

The season’s first Istanbul derby is set for tonight and it should be nothing less than a brawl as the two clubs look to remain in the title race.

Fenerbahce and Besiktas are set for a derby showdown today. Winning only two of their last five matches, the Yellow Canaries must  beat their powerful city rivals, Besiktas, in order to remain in the title race.

The same goes for Fenerbahce’s Dutch coach Philip Cocu. He added a new fiasco to his résumé by losing 4-1 against Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Europa League adding to his poor performance since taking over the reins at the Turkish club.

Turkish media reports allege that the derby is the last chance for the Dutchman. If Fenerbahce does not win against Besiktas, Cocu will have to part ways with the team. He will most likely be replaced with Ersun Yanal, who guided Fenerbahce to the league title in 2013/2014, according to media reports.

This season’s first derby will be played at Fenerbahce’s Ulker Stadium at 9 p.m. local time (6:00 p.m. GMT). While Besiktas have 10 points, Fenerbahce has six points and find themselves in 13th place.

Meanwhile, Besiktas beat Norway’s Sarpsborg 3-1 in their first game in the Europa League 2018-19 group stage on Thursday. But Besiktas have a tough task ahead of them because they have not won against Fenerbahce at Ulker Stadium since 2005.

Elsewhere, Erzurumspor lost at home against Ankaraguc 1-0, while Bursaspor drew with Istanbul Basaksehir 0-0 on Friday. On Saturday, Malatyaspor beat Caykur Rizespor 1-0, Konyaspor won 2-0 against Kayserispor away,  while Goztepe beat hosts Trabzonspor 2-1.

You can watch the highlights of each Super Lig fixture here.