Turkey take on Wales in the Euro 2020 Group A in the Olympic Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan on Wednesday 16 June.
The Crescent Stars will be hoping to bounce back from a poor performance against Italy on the opening day of the tournament.
READ: Euro 2020 team guide: Turkey – Dark Horses
The Italians beat Turkey 3-0 in Rome and were rarely troubled over the course of the 90 minutes.
Turkey’s display was to put it mildly, abysmal. Head coach Senol Gunes has hinted he will make a few changes heading into the Wales game.
Gunes has experimented with a few new players in training and leaked some details to journalists in the camp.
Ozan Kabak could fill in for Merih Demiral at centre-back as Turkey are likely to play a more attacking game with a higher line.
Kabak is quicker and better on the ball plus he is used to playing a high line from his time at Liverpool over the second half of the season.
Cengiz Under is likely to get the nod on the wing. The winger adds pace, width and is not afraid to take on opposition defenders.
With Yusuf Yazici and Hakan Calhanoglu both starting it left the team unbalanced. Yazici on the wing allowed Italy to overload on his side as he is not a winger and not suited to playing so wide.
Yazici or Calhanoglu could make way for Under with either attacking midfielder in line to start behind striker Burak Yilmaz.
Kenan Karaman meanwhile could get dropped for the likes of Irfan Can Kahveci or Dorukhan Tokoz. This will give Turkey a better chance of controlling possession in midfield.
Wales meanwhile, drew their opening game against Switzerland 1-1 so are in a better position heading into the Turkey game.
However, realistically both sides need to win this game to give themselves a good chance of progressing to the next round.
As bad as Turkey were, Wales were not exactly that impressive either against the Swiss. They looked vulnerable dealing with set pieces and Switzerland managed to get past their defence several times. Had they taken their chances the scoreline could have been different.
Turkey did play awful against Italy however, you can’t judge a team based on one result. And failure can be a great teacher. This is a young side with players who have not played at a major tournament before.
The team is capable of playing so much better, after all they took four points off France over two games, crushed Netherlands 4-2 and beat Norway.
The Italy defeat was a wake-up call. And has really united the squad in training over the past few days.
Additionally, playing in Azerbaijan is as close to playing at home for Turkey. The two countries share a language, have historic and ethnic ties. Turkey will enjoy support like they do back home on Wednesday.
I feel Turkey are being underestimated right now which will play into their hands.
Prediction: Turkey Win
