Trabzonspor come into this one with real momentum and a point to prove. They've spent big this summer — the arrival of Salah gives them an elite attacking edge alongside the towering Onuachu, and that quality was always going to show against the lesser lights. They opened the season away at Kasımpaşa, a tricky trip to Istanbul, and while the result was tight, the performance suggested a side that's clicked early. They'll be desperate to make the Akyazı Stadium a fortress again after a mixed 2025-26 campaign. Home crowds in Trabzon are a force of nature — the noise, the pressure, the belief — and that counts for plenty in these early-season showdowns.

Istanbul Başakşehir, meanwhile, are the Grey Owls — clever, organised, but increasingly cut adrift from the big four. Nuri Şahin has rebuilt with smart signings like Emin Bayram, Saba Kharebashvili and Michal Karbownik, but the injury list is a worry: Bruno Petković, Aleksandar Jovanović, Mahamadou Susoho and Massadio Haïdara are all out. That's a chunk of their spine missing before a ball is kicked. They finished fourth or fifth in every campaign since 2021-22, but this season feels different — the gap is widening. They'll scrap, they'll compete, but they're not the force they once were.