Turkish Super Lig

The Turkish Super Lig is the top flight in the Turkish league system. It is not considered one of the big leagues in Europe but Turkish top clubs always seem to sign big players from time to time. Some outstanding players have gone that way towards the end of their careers. They usually end up at one of the ‘big three’ clubs from Istanbul: Galatasaray, Besiktas or Fenerbahce. This league surely packs some very interesting derby matches. At the time of writing, 19 clubs take part in the Turkish top division. This uneven number has everything to do with the reshaping of the Super Lig due to COVID-19. The Turkish FA decided to promote the top three in the second division while the season was abandoned due to COVID-19 and also decided that the bottom three in the Super Lig would be relegated. The three relegated clubs didn’t accept this faith and went to court. Eventually they were granted the right to stay up which saw the number of teams in the Super Lig go up from 18 to 21. The Turkish FA made the decision to let four clubs be relegated in the three seasons after while just three clubs will be promoted from the second division so it will take three seasons for the number of teams to be back to 18.

We’ve already elaborated on the four teams that will go down this season. From season 2023/2024 onwards this number will go back to just three sides that will be relegated. Turkish clubs haven’t been performing too well in European club competitions which has resulted in just four tickets for European club football that will be granted at the end of the season. Turkish football has definitely seen better times. The Super Lig champion will have a chance to qualify for next season’s Champions League group phase where they have to survive a few qualifying rounds in order to make it to the biggest stage in European club football. The teams that finish second and third will be granted a Europa Conference League ticket. Fourth place finishers will only be granted a Europa Conference League ticket if the Turkish Cup winner finishes in the top four as well. The Turkish Super Lig is definitely a league that sees a lot of goals. Is this league which you should bet on? We’ve put some things together for you to find out.

Turkish Super Lig history

The Turkish Super Lig was founded in 1959. Before that time, Clubs like Galatasaray, Besiktas and Fenerbahce were already playing their football. They would usually compete against each other and clubs from Izmir. Since the start of the Super Lig, it was those three clubs that would dominate the Turkish top flight. It was until 1976 that another team outside the ‘big three’ would manage to win the national title. Trabzonspor made sure to end the ‘big three era’ by finishing either first or second in the league up until 1985. Turkish football fans would speak about the ‘big four’ instead of ‘big three’. It was long after until another side would manage to infiltrate this top four but in 2010 did it and sealed their first league title in history. The last and most recent team that managed to enter the Turkish top pack is Istanbul Basaksehir. They won their first and only league title in 2020. All the league title winning clubs still find themselves in the top of Turkish football except for Bursaspor who got into financial trouble and have been relegated to the third tier of the Turkish football pyramid. Successes in European club competitions weren’t plentiful but quarter and semifinals have been reached by Turkish sides on a few occasions. The only European title that has been won by a Turkish club is the UEFA Cup (Europa League) by Galatasaray in 2000. We’ve talked about big players that (used to) play for the big Turkish clubs, mostly at the later stages of their career. Some of those big names that have played in the Super Lig are: Samuel Eto’o, Gheorghe Hagi, Roberto Carlos, Claudio Taffarel and Hakan Sükür.

Popular teams that play in the Turkish Super Lig

The ‘big three’ are definitely the most successful sides both nationally and internationally. Galatasaray is the club that has the most supporters as well as the most successful team in Turkey with 22 league titles and one European club title. They are located in the European part of Istanbul. The second most popular Turkish football club is Fenerbahce with 19 league titles. They are officially based in the Asian side of Istanbul. Besiktas comes in at third when it comes to fan base. They managed to win 16 league titles in Turkey. Besiktas find themselves in the European part of Istanbul. The rivalry between these clubs are intense both on and off the pitch. Referees are often referred to as being police officers during games as some games between these clubs have seen an incredible amount of (red) cards. Hooligan fights between groups of supporters are one of the heaviest in the world. Supporters would die for their clubs, sometimes even literally speaking. The other clubs that have won titles, have large fan bases and big stadiums are Trabzonspor and Bursaspor. Istanbul Basaksehir is the newest club that is playing in the Turkish top but has a somewhat smaller fan base and a relatively small stadium as well.

Tips for betting on the Turkish Super Lig

The best thing you can do as a sports bettor is making sure that you do enough research on games that you bet on. No-one creates an edge on their bookmaker without putting in time and effort. Solely checking your livescore app isn’t going to cut it. Big advantage of betting on this league, just like any other big league, is that finding information is as easy as it gets.

Don’t be fooled by the ‘big three’ in this league. Yeah, on paper they are the biggest clubs but when it comes to overall quality in their squads, the rest of the Super Lig clubs aren’t too far away from them. Especially away from home big clubs have struggled more than ever in this league. Don’t just look at club stature, it will not be profitable if you bet on top clubs predominantly. Also, the big clubs in Turkey aren’t as strong as they were in the past. Be aware of clubs that play during the week as well. If they have had a tough game in European competitions earlier that week, they can be quite fatigued or unmotivated after they played a big club in the Champions League for example, especially when they have played away from home. There tend to be more surprises after a European game. This can also be used as an opportunity. Odds on top clubs are often low and betting against them might hold a lot more value. The majority of sports bettors will mostly bet in favor of a top club. Odds for heavy favorites might drop even more because of this. This league is pretty volatile with strange and unexpected results every now and then. The Super Lig is not the league to find your ‘Safe’ bets.

What type of bets are suitable for this league?

This will apply to every single league but Asian markets are one of the best ways to go about if you want to develop a profitable betting strategy. If you start off betting or developing a betting strategy for the first time, it is good to keep things basic. Focus on the ‘money line’ when it comes to Asian markets. The money line is basically the bet where the odds with betting on Asian handicaps in this case are closest together. The bookmaker is giving you odds on certain markets in order to show you how likely they think that something is going to happen. If the odds for team A winning with -1 handicap are close to the odds for team B winning with a +1 handicap it will mean that the bookmaker expects it to be most likely that team A wins the game with 1 goal margin. If you analyze that game and you find clues on why team A would perform better than expected you can bet on Team A -1. If you think team B has what it takes to surprise in this specific game, you should bet on team B +1. In the case of Asian handicaps, it means that you can even get your money back by betting on team B +1 if team A wins just by one goal difference. That is the advantage of betting on Asian handicaps. You can go about Asian lines the same way. Try to find factors that will influence a certain game that will make it into a high or low scoring one. You can also base it on statistics. ‘Match result and both teams to score’ is also a market that can be good to focus on in this league. Turkish clubs tend to score a lot of goals but they also tend to be a bit unorganized when it comes to their defense.

Alternatives to betting on the Turkish Super Lig

We know right now that the Turkish Super Lig is a competition where the average amount of goals per game is quite high. This makes the Eredivisie comparable to the Turkish top flight. The Belgian Jupiler Pro League can also be a good alternative to the Super Lig. There is no team that really dominated this division and there are several clubs that keep battling with top clubs until the end of the season in order to win tickets for European club competitions.

Bookies with Turkish Super Lig affinity