Alanyaspor vs Besiktas Prediction: Italiano's High-Press Machine Eyes Another Clean Sheet

Alanyaspor host Besiktas at the Alanya Oba Stadium on 23 August 2026 in week two of the Super Lig, with the two clubs in very different places after a single round of fixtures. Alanyaspor sit around tenth on one point from their opening draw, while Besiktas are in the top five on three points and five consecutive wins across all competitions. Alanyaspor need to get Joao Pereira's project moving, Besiktas simply want more of the same.

Vincenzo Italiano only took charge of Besiktas on 6 June 2026, replacing Sergen Yalcin, which means this is his first meeting with Pereira, who arrived at Alanyaspor on 22 March 2025 and there is no meaningful coaching head-to-head to pick apart here.

Besiktas's recent form is formidable across five wins and five clean sheets: a 3-0 Europa League victory over Kauno Zalgiris on 20 August, a 1-0 Super Lig win against Eyupspor on 16 August and a 1-0 qualifying success against Hradec Kralove on 13 August are the three most recent examples. Alanyaspor's single match sample looks thin next to that, a 1-1 draw with Gaziantep FK on 15 August where Ruan Duarte's goal was encouraging but the dropped point was not.

Alanyaspor have two injury doubts to manage going into this, with Ianis Hagi uncertain due to a groin or tendon problem and Meschack Elia also a concern after an elbow issue. Without both, the creative link between midfield and attack becomes noticeably thinner with no obvious replacement for what either of them offers. Besiktas are in better shape: Jean Onana is listed as doubtful but expected back around match day and the rest of Italiano's squad is intact after five consecutive wins.

Alanyaspor under Pereira favour structured possession and counter attacks built around a disciplined defensive shape. They look to hold their lines and spring forward through Ruan Duarte and Hwang Ui-jo. The possible absences of Hagi and Elia complicate that picture considerably though. Without them, midfielders who are primarily asked to screen and hold shape will have to carry more of the creative load than they are built for and it is hard to see where the quality comes from in the final third.

Italiano has set Besiktas up to press high and push the ball forward quickly once possession is won. The clean sheet run is not accidental: it comes from coordinated pressing triggers and disciplined recovery runs rather than sitting deep. Orkun Kokcu drives the system from midfield while Cerny operates on the right and Besiktas have been winning the ball high up the pitch throughout this run. If Alanyaspor's central two cannot progress the ball past the first press, they will spend the afternoon defending and any disorganisation in the home side, particularly with Hagi and Elia potentially absent, will hand Italiano's team cheap turnovers. Besiktas have already broken down stronger teams in recent weeks with exactly this approach.

Besiktas have the better of this fixture historically, winning 11 of 21 meetings to Alanyaspor's 4, with 6 draws. Recent encounters have often been decided by a single goal rather than comprehensively won, which suits a side who are currently more concerned with winning than dominating and Alanyaspor need a good result to climb out of mid table but cannot afford to chase it recklessly because the spaces that open up when teams overcommit are exactly what Besiktas are built to exploit.

Besiktas to win 2-0. Five straight wins with five clean sheets is a serious run of form and the question marks over Hagi and Elia mean Alanyaspor are unlikely to find a way through. Italiano's pressing system should prevent Alanyaspor from stringing together the short combinations that would move Besiktas's press out of position and Besiktas have scored on the counter in four of their last five games, which is the most likely route to the result here.