Round 20 of the 2023-24 Turkish Super Lig season sees Antalyaspor and Trabzonspor go head to head at the New Antalya Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Scorpions trail the final European place by four points, while the Black Sea Storm aim to solidify their grip on European qualification for next season.
Match preview
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Antalyaspor picked up their first win of the year with a 1-0 victory over Pendikspor on Tuesday, ending a three-match winless run.
Sergen Yalcin's men had their backs against the wall for large spells of the contest but did well to come away with maximum points courtesy of Bahadir Ozturk's 19th-minute strike.
Amassing 28 points from 19 games, the Scorpions sit eighth in the standings, just four points off the last European spot.
Currently on a run of eight competitive home games without defeat in all competitions leading up to Sunday's affair, the hosts will be keen to extend their streak against one of the league's high-flyers.
However, they have recorded just one win in their last five meetings with the visitors, losing to them three times in that period with one draw to go along.
Trabzonspor extended their unbeaten run to six matches in all competitions with a 2-1 victory over Samsunspor in the Turkish Super Lig on Thursday.
Abdullah Avci's men went into the interval with a two-goal lead following strikes from Filip Benkovic and Paul Onuachu, while they managed to hold on for maximum points despite Samsunspor's Taylan Antalyali halving the deficit from the spot in second-half stoppage time.
Having won 11, drawn three and lost five of their 19 Turkish Super Lig games, Trabzonspor are currently sitting in third position and four points clear of fourth-placed Besiktas.
The Black Sea Storm will hit the road for another away clash this weekend, aiming to stretch their unbeaten streak away from home to seven games, while also chasing a fourth consecutive win on enemy turf.
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Team News
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Naldo Gomes is Antalyaspor's only reported absentee, sidelined by a muscle injury until January.
Yalcin could stick to the same starting lineup from the win over Pendikspor, consisting of a midfield trio of Ramzi Safuri, Erdal Rakip and Dario Saric.
Adam Buksa has eight goals in the league this season, and should lead the line once again, supported by Erdogan Yesilyurt and Zymer Bytyqi.
Trabzonspor are expected to be without Stefano Denswil and Mislav Orsic, while there are doubts surrounding the fitness of Tonio Teklic, Abdulkadir Omur, Ognjen Bakic and Umut Bozok.
Trezeguet and Nicolas Pepe are currently away with their respective national sides at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Avci could be tempted to name an unchanged lineup for Sunday's contest after seeing his side pick up maximum points last time out.
Antalyaspor possible starting lineup:
Leite; Vural, Ozturk, Toprak, Balci; Saric, Rakip, Safuri; Yesilyurt, Buksa, Bytyqi
Trabzonspor possible starting lineup:
Cakir; Stryger Larsen, Baniya, Benkovic, Elmali; Ozdemir, Mendy; Visca, Bakasetas, Fountas; Onuachu
We say: Antalyaspor 1-2 Trabzonspor
Antalyaspor may have shown signs of improvement in the last couple of months, but they always find it difficult against Trabzonspor. We think that an in-form Trabzonspor side will be too much to handle for the home side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
