Victor Osimhen returns for Galatasaray vs Kasimpasa: Preview, team news, h2h, tips & more

Victor Osimhen, the Super Eagles striker, has scored six goals in just four Süper Lig appearances this season, and Galatasaray will need every one of his instincts in front of goal when Kasımpaşa visit the Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex (RAMS Park) on Friday, October 9, 2026.

Club football is back. https://t.co/YfMwGybGPK

— Galatasaray EN (@Galatasaray) October 8, 2026

Okan Buruk’s side sit second in the table after six rounds and are looking to shake off back-to-back defeats to Trabzonspor and Sporting Clube de Portugal that arrived either side of the international break, while Kasımpaşa travel unbeaten in eight matches but without the forward who has carried most of their attacking threat this season.

The pause for international fixtures arrived at a useful moment for Galatasaray, who looked like a side in need of the break after that pair of defeats, and Friday offers the first real measure of whether the rest has helped.

Victor Osimhen’s Form and Galatasaray’s League Position

Osimhen’s numbers this season read like a one-man title case on their own, six goals, two assists and an expected-goals tally of 5.22 from four matches, a return that has him rated 8.69 by FotMob, the highest of any Galatasaray player this term.

Galatasaray’s form around him has wobbled, Trabzonspor beat them 4-0 away from home before a 1-0 win over Kocaelispor steadied the ship, and Sporting Clube de Portugal added a 3-1 Champions League defeat.

Buruk’s side remain second on 13 points from six matches, four wins, one draw and one loss, a goal difference of +3, while Kasımpaşa sit eighth on 10 points from six matches, two wins, four draws and zero losses, a goal difference of +2, their unbeaten run built on draws rather than victories, three of their last five league games have ended level, including back-to-back stalemates against Konyaspor and Amed Sportif.

Head-to-Head: Galatasaray vs Kasımpaşa Recent Meetings

The two sides have met five times in the league since 2024, Galatasaray winning two, Kasımpaşa winning one and two ending level, with Galatasaray’s 13 goals scored outweighing the 10 they have conceded across that run.

The most recent meeting went the other way though, Kasımpaşa winning 1-0 at RAMS Park in May 2026 despite Galatasaray’s 71 percent possession and five shots on target to two, Adrian Benedyczak scoring the only goal in the 27th minute from a Fousseni Diabaté assist.

Across their entire Süper Lig history Galatasaray have won 27 of 44 meetings to Kasımpaşa’s eight, with nine draws, outscoring them 90 goals to 49, though that single result from May is too recent and too narrow a sample to lean on heavily for Friday’s prediction.

That May defeat was played in front of former Galatasaray great Fatih Terim, watching on from the stands during the season the club went on to win the title, a backdrop Kasımpaşa have no interest in seeing repeated this time, and it is also the last occasion goalkeeper Günay Güvenç missed out through injury, the same problem that rules him out again on Friday.

Team News and Predicted Lineups

Galatasaray have four fitness concerns heading into the weekend, Roland Sallai, Wilfried Singo and Mario Lemina are all doubtful with muscle, thigh and groin issues respectively, while goalkeeper Günay Güvenç remains out with a knee injury until mid-October.

Victor Osimhen is not among the concerns and is expected to be in the matchday squad. He is just returning from an injury, so there is a possibility that he will start from the match, depending on his fitness level.

Kasımpaşa’s situation up front is more serious, Benedyczak, their top scorer with four goals in six league appearances, has fractured his wrist and will miss the trip to Istanbul, a blow significant enough that he was withdrawn from Poland’s national team squad in September because of it, Kamil Çörekçi remains out with an Achilles problem until early November and Mortadha Ben Ouanes is a doubt with a muscle issue.

Victor Osimhen vs Diabaté: Star Player Comparison

With Benedyczak sidelined, Fousseni Diabaté becomes Kasımpaşa’s most advanced senior option, a 30-year-old Malian forward who has operated as an auxiliary attacker rather than a focal striker this season, and who supplied the assist for Kasımpaşa’s goal the last time these two sides met, and the numbers below show just how different a test he represents compared with Osimhen this season.

The Managers: Okan Buruk vs Emre Belözoğlu

Okan Buruk has been in charge at Galatasaray since June 2022, during which he has turned the club into the Süper Lig’s dominant force and remains the clear favourite to lead another title push this season.

Emre Belözoğlu, the former Turkey international who won 101 caps as a central midfielder and reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008 as a player, took over at Kasımpaşa on December 4, 2025, arriving after a mixed spell at Antalyaspor where he recorded nine wins, six draws and 13 losses from 28 matches in charge.

Tactical Preview

Buruk’s 4-2-3-1 relies on width from Leroy Sané and Yunus Akgün either side of a central trio built to feed Osimhen quickly, and Kasımpaşa’s back line has already conceded 10 goals across their last five meetings with Galatasaray in exactly that kind of transition.

Belözoğlu’s Kasımpaşa have built their unbeaten run on compact defending and set pieces rather than control, and without Benedyczak’s movement in behind, the visitors look more likely to sit in a deeper block and search for openings through Diabaté and the wide forwards rather than press high at RAMS Park.

The Naija Slip: Betting Tips

Score Prediction