Adana Demirspor set out in search of their first win of the year when they play host to Ankaragucu at the New Adana Stadium in round 21 of the Turkish Super Lig on Saturday.
Both sides head into the weekend off the back of contrasting results in the Turkiye Kupasi, with the Ankara-based outfit claiming a comfortable home victory over Caykur Rizespor.
Match preview
Adana Demirspor's quest for a first Turkish Cup trophy since 1978 came to an end on Wednesday when they fell to a penalty-shootout defeat at the hands of TFF Second League outfit Anagold 24 Erzincanspor.
Edouard Michut and Emre Akbaba scored in the final minutes of the game to pull the hosts level and take the game to extra time, and with nothing to separate the sides, Erzincanspor picked up a 7-6 win on penalties, with Jovan Manev missing the decisive kick.
This was in keeping with their recent struggles in the Super Lig, where Serkan Damla's men are on a three-game winless run, picking up just two points from a possible nine, and have won just one of their last 10 matches since the start of November.
After a solid start to the season, where they picked up five wins and two draws in their opening five matches, Demirspor's drop-off in form has seen them drop to sixth place in the Super Lig standings, level on 29 points with Antalyaspor and Kayserispor.
Ankaragucu, on the other hand, picked up successive wins for just the second time this season as they edged out Caykur Rizespor 3-1 at the Eryaman Stadium in the fifth round of the Turkish Cup on Tuesday.
Mithat Pala struck with seven minutes left in normal time to cancel out Ali Kaan Guneren's 57th-minute opener, but Tolga Cigeri and Olimpiu Morutan scored quick-fire goals in the final minutes of stoppage time to hand the hosts a deserved victory.
Prior to that, Ankaragucu picked up their first win of the year on January 13, when they edged out Kasimpasa 3-1 on home turf to bring their run of six Super Lig games without a win to an end.
Emre Belozoglu's men have picked up five wins and six draws in their 19 league matches so far to collect 24 points and sit 12th in the table, just four points above the dotted line.
While Ankaragucu will be looking to make it three wins on the trot for the first time since March 2022, results against Demirspor offer little optimism as they have failed to win any of their previous seven games against Saturday's hosts, losing five and claiming two draws since November 2012.
Team News
Demirspor will have to cope without Turkish forward Yusuf Sari, who has missed the last three games since coming off with a knee injury against Istanbul Basaksehir on January 6.
Veteran striker Mario Balotelli has been sidelined since sustaining a knee injury against Fenerbahce on November 12 and is also out of contention for the Blue Lightnings.
Damla should name his strongest possible XI this weekend, with the likes of goalkeeper Sahrudin Mahammadaliyev, midfielder Benjamin Stambouli and the attacking duo of Akbaba and Babajide David Akintola returning to the starting lineup.
Ankaragucu will also be without the services of midfielder Mendes Rodrigues and striker Ali Sowe, who are currently at the Africa Cup of Nations with Cape Verde and Gambia respectively.
On the injury front, 33-year-old defender Alper Uludag has missed each of the visitors' last five matches through a knee problem and is ruled out of this weekend's clash.
Adana Demirspor possible starting lineup:
Makhammadaliev; Cokcalis, Guler, Gravillon, Dursun; Stambouli, Michut, Cisse, Akbaba, Erdogan; Akintola
Ankaragucu possible starting lineup:
Gungordu; Cankaya, Radakovic, Mujakic, Kitsiou; Guneren, Pedrinho; Cephas, Morutan, Chatzigiovanis; Bajic
We say: Adana Demirspor 1-1 Ankaragucu
Ankaragucu have hit their stride since the turn of the year and will fancy their chances against a Demirspor side who have struggled for results in recent weeks. However, Demirspor have a solid record in this fixture and we predict that they will hold out for a share of the spoils.
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