Will the newcomer surprise?
The 68th edition of the Süper Lig kicks off and the first round of matches concludes on the Black Sea! We’re giving you our Trabzonspor vs. Kocaelispor tip. The hosts are the favorites, as their opponents are newcomers to the league.
For the first time in 16 years, the players from Izmit are back in the Süper Lig, and their main goal for the season is, of course, to stay in the league. Trabzonspor’s ambitions are much higher. After finishing seventh last season, they are aiming to at least qualify for Europe again.
Coach Fatih Tekke’s team will also be counting on home advantage against the newly promoted side. After all, the hosts had the fourth-best home record last season, with only the top two teams, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, scoring more goals than them. However, the prediction for the match between Trabzonspor and Kocaelispor favors the visitors, including a handicap of +1 goal for them.
Furthermore, we do not expect a shortage of goals, as the “Bordo-Mavililer” impressed at home from an offensive perspective last season, but at the same time regularly faltered in defense. For this reason, Trabzonspor’s home league games last season saw an average of no fewer than 3.4 goals (the second-highest home average after Kasimpasa with 3.6), and the majority (3) of the five test matches before the new season also saw at least one goal conceded.
Trabzonspor – Kocaelispor Head-to-head record / H2H record
The last direct duel was around 16 years ago and ended in a 3-1 away win for Trabzonspor. This is not a new pattern for this pairing: Kocaelispor has been waiting for a win for four meetings (0-1-3) and the opponent has always scored at least twice.
From this perspective, it is not surprising that the Trabzonspor vs. Kocaelispor betting odds are once again pointing towards a home win. You can also find odds for the match at Papara Park Stadyumu at Betano, and the bookmaker is one of the sports betting providers that accepts Paysafecard!
Trabzonspor – Kocaelispor Tip
The hosts have set themselves ambitious goals for the new season. Seventh place in the final standings of the last Süper Lig season was their worst finish in the last nine seasons in the Turkish top flight.
In Kocaelispor, they now face an opponent who seems well set up for a successful start to the season in front of their own fans. The visitors are only newcomers to the Süper Lig, although they secured promotion as champions and have a squad of considerable quality.
One example is Ryan Mendes from Cape Verde, who scored double digits in goals and assists last season and has a wealth of experience at 35 years of age. His class is also evident from the fact that he has played in Ligue 1 for Lille and in the Championship for Nottingham during his career.
Another factor working against the home side is that their opponents will be highly motivated in their first match in the top flight after more than a decade, and they no longer have Simon Banza, the club’s clear top scorer and fourth-highest scorer in the Süper Lig last season.
This clearly weakens their offense, and offensive additions such as Brazilian Felipe Augusto, who was signed from Cercle Brugge, are not enough to match Banza’s enormous goal-scoring threat in our eyes. In light of this situation, we consider the Trabzonspor vs. Kocaelispor odds on the visitors (including a +1.0 handicap for them) to be promising.
