Ten days on from the unsavoury post-match scenes that followed a 1-1 draw with Rizespor, Ankaragucu return to Turkish Super Lig action when they welcome Hatayspor to the Eryaman Stadium on Thursday evening.
The two teams sit level on 18 points after 15 games this season, with Hatayspor in 10th currently one place above Ankaragucu in 11th on goal difference.
Match preview
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The Super Lig was in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons last week as matches across all Turkish football leagues were suspended indefinitely following the on-field attack by Ankaragucu's president on a referee.
Faruk Koca stormed onto the pitch and punched official Halil Umut Meler in the face at the end of Ankaragucu's score draw at home against Rizespor, in which Adolfo Gaich netted a 97th-minute equaliser for the visitors. The incident sparked a melee between players, officials and supporters around Meler, who was also kicked as he lay on the ground seeking protection.
Meler spent three days in the hospital with a fractured eye socket, and Koca, who later gave an astonishing defence of his actions by claiming he only intended to spit on the official's face, was arrested by police before resigning from his post as president, and he has since been handed a lifetime ban from football by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF).
Football in the Turkish top flight will restart on Tuesday, but Ankaragucu have been punished with a €63,000 fine by TFF and will play their next five home matches behind closed doors, including Thursday's meeting with Hatayspor.
Across all competitions, Emre Belozoglu's side are unbeaten in their last five games, but they have experienced an inconsistent run of form in the Super Lig, winning just three, losing three and drawing four of their last 10 matches.
However, Ankaragucu have only lost one of their last nine matches on home soil and they beat Hatayspor both home and away last season by an aggregate score of 7-1, which bodes well heading into Thursday's contest.
Ankaragucu are arguably facing Hatayspor at a good time as the latter have suffered a decline in form over the last few months despite making a strong start to the campaign.
The Star of the South picked up 14 points during an eight-game unbeaten run at the start of the season, but they have since won just one, drawn one and lost five of their last seven Super Lig matches, including a narrow 1-0 defeat at Istanbul Basaksehir just over a week ago.
Head coach Volkan Demirel served a touchline suspension for that match, but the 42-year-old will be back in the dugout on Thursday and will be keen to see a reaction from his players as they attempt to end their poor run of form and maintain their position in the top half of the table.
Success on Thursday could prove challenging for Hatayspor, though, as they have failed to win any of their last seven away games, losing each of their most recent four in the process, while they have not come out on top in any of their previous four visits to Ankaragucu.
Team News
Ankaragucu midfielder Tolga Cigerci remains sidelined with a thigh injury, while striker Ali Sowe is suspended following his red card against Rizespor last time out.
The absence of Sowe could see either Riad Bajic or former Manchester United forward Federico Macheda lead the line, with support set to be provided in attack by wingers Garry Rodrigues and Olimpiu Morutan, the latter of whom scored in the last match against Rizespor.
As for Hatayspor, Mehdi Boudjemaa is still recovering from a muscle injury and is not expected to return until the New Year, while Kamil Corekci has missed the last six league games with a knee problem and is unlikely to feature on Thursday.
Former Napoli left-back Faouzi Ghoulam is doubtful after missing the defeat at Basaksehir due to an unspecified injury, so Cengiz Demir could continue in defence, while attacking trio Renat Dadashov, Carlos Strandberg and Rigoberto Rivas – who have scored 11 goals combined so far this season – are all set to keep their places in the final third.
Ankaragucu possible starting lineup:
Gungordu; Cankaya, Mujakic, Radakovic, Hanousek; Guneren, Pedrinho; Morutan, Bekiroglu, Rodrigues; Bajic
Hatayspor possible starting lineup:
Kardesler; Alici, Kilama, Bekaroglu, Demir; Dele-Bashiru, Massanga, Beyaz; Strandberg, Dadashov, Rivas
We say: Ankaragucu 2-1 Hatayspor
A closely-fought contest between two evenly-matched teams is set to be in store on Thursday, but considering that Ankaragucu have got the better of Hatayspor in recent meetings, the hosts may just do enough to claim maximum points this time around.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
