Turkey vs Bulgaria – Prediction: Can Turkey Secure Second Place?

Turkey face Bulgaria, just needing a single point to ensure a playoff spot in UEFA World Cup Qualifying Group E. Spain are odds-on to win the Group outright, though Turkey can still keep themselves in the hunt with a heavy win in this fixture, especially if Georgia do them a favour in Tbilisi. Bulgaria have endured a miserable qualifying campaign and the best they can hope for is to pick up some points for pride as their dreams of a return to an American World Cup (Where they made the semi-finals in 1994) were ended in their last match.

Day: Saturday, 15 November
Time: 20:00
Stadium: Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Stadium, Bursa
Tournament: World Cup Qualifying Group E – Matchday 5

Turkey have, on the whole, had a pretty good 2025. Aside from their 6-0 thrashing at home to Spain in their World Cup Qualifying Group E clash. Wins in this group have included a 4-1 home a 3-2 win away at fellow Play-off spot challengers Georgia. Plus, they thrashed Bulgaria 6-1 away to effectively end any hopes they had of making it to the playoffs.

They’ve struggled to keep clean sheets, though. Only twice in their previous 13 fixtures had Turkey prevented the opposition from scoring. At the same time, though, at the other end of the pitch, they’ve only failed to find the net three times, scoring 30 goals.

As for Bulgaria, their World Cup Qualification campaign got off to a disastrous start. They were beaten 3-0 in each of their first two games, the first at home to Spain, followed by an away defeat to Georgia. Things have actually managed to get worse in the next two as Turkey hammered them 6-1 and Spain put 4 past them without reply.

Both sides began their Qualification campaign with a realistic chance of taking that Play-off spot. Turkey are in a great position to do so, Bulgaria have got to take a long hard look at why their national team is performing so poorly on the world stage.

Turkey – Looking to Build on their Good Form

After a very hit-and-miss 2024, Turkey appear to have found some form this year. Of their 15 games in 2024, Turkey won just six of them, losing six and drawing three. This year, they’ve proved to be a lot more consistent, with six wins from their eight games played at the time of writing.

They did endure a heavy defeat at home to Spain, but aside from this, Turkey have looked good. A win or even a draw against Bulgaria will ensure they have a playoff spot secured going into the final match against the European champions.

Bulgaria – Hoping to Stop the Rot

Bulgaria have had a very poor year. Out of the eight games played, they’re yet to win, losing seven and drawing one. In fact, they’ve only won one of their last twelve, with that sole victory coming away at Luxembourg in the Nations League. They’ve struggled defensively, especially, conceding 26 goals in the eight matches this year, and 32 in their last twelve!

It’s looking likely that Bulgaria will not just miss out on qualification but also prop up the Group come the final matchday. However, a win in this one could at least give them a hope of finishing above Georgia in third and picking up some FIFA ranking points important for future tournament seedings.

For our Turkey vs Bulgaria prediction, we’ve examined the form of both sides, along with their recent goals for and against records.

Turkey vs Bulgaria – Possible Lineups

Turkey don’t have any fresh injury concerns or suspensions to contend with, so they’ll have a strong squad to choose from. Galatasaray’s number 1 Uǧurcan Çakir is likely to continue in goal ahead of Altay Bayindir and Mert Günok. Star striker Kerem Aktürkoǧlu will once again lead the line.

As for Bulgaria, they too should have their strongest squad available as they look for a much needed three points. Svetoslav Vutsov will start in between the sticks, with Marin Petkov again starting in that attacking midfield role.

Turkey possible XI:

GK: Uǧurcan Çakir

DEF: Eren Elmali, Abdülkerim Bardakçı, Merih Demiral, Mert Müldür

MID: ismail Yüksek, Hakan Çalhanoğlu

ATT: Kenan Yildiz, Arda Güler, Yunus Akgün

FW: Kerem Aktürkoğlu

Bulgaria possible XI:

GK: Svetoslav Vutsov

DEF: Anton Nedyalkov, Rosen Bozhinov, Kristian Dimitrov, Nikolay Minkov

MID: Emil Tsenov, Andrian Kraev

ATT: Radoslav Kirilov, Georgi Milanov, Marin Petkov

FW: Vladimir Nikolov

Where to watch Turkey vs Bulgaria Live

Viewers in Spain can watch Turkey vs Bulgaria in a variety of ways. The UEFA official broadcaster of all UEFA World Cup Qualifying matches is RTVE Play. The match will also be broadcast on UEFA.tv. Text commentary is also available from UEFA.com and FIFA.com.

Some betting sites can also provide live streams of Turkey vs Bulgaria, along with updated commentary and statistics throughout.

• RTVE Play
• UEFA.tv
• UEFA.com
• FIFA.com
• Prime Video
• Betting Sites

Prediction Turkey vs Bulgaria

I think it’s extremely hard to look past Turkey to take all three points against Bulgaria and ensure their chances of claiming a Play-off spot and staying in the hunt for a top spot. Bulgaria are in desperate need of a result, but their poor form, combined with Turkey’s excellent recent performances, means it’s difficult to see how they can take anything away from the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Stadium.

My Turkey vs Bulgaria prediction is that Turkey to win, and very comfortably at that. It’s worth remembering that they need goals to improve their goal difference and take the top spot race to the final game. Therefore, add a -2 handicap to them when placing this bet to ensure better odds.

Odds somewhere in the region of 2.10 to 2.50 are expected, so more than this is a good bet.