Adana Demirspor's Super Lig survival prospects are fading as the bottom club travel to mid-table Caykur Rizespor in Sunday's gameweek 21 clash at the Caykur Didi Stadium.
The cellar-dwelling club enter the weekend after three losses on the trot and 15 overall, highlighting the club's uphill task ahead of a visit to a club without defeat on home turf since September.
Match preview
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Rizespor have had a mixed start to 2025, with one draw to start the year, a win at struggling Hatayspor and a 2-0 defeat last time out against Istanbul Basaksehir.
Last weekend's defeat was the third time Ilhan Palut's men have fired blanks in the top flight in the previous four matches on their travels, failing to score in defeats at Gaziantep (1-0), Goztepe (3-0) and Basaksehir, while a sole success at Hatayspor prevented the Black Sea Sparrowhawk from falling to four successive away disappointments.
The 10th-placed club, who enter this weekend with one win in their last five Super Lig clashes, will welcome a return to their stomping ground, having avoided defeat in Rize since Samsunspor beat them 1-0 last September.
While that reverse was Rizespor's third home defeat on the trot, following Fenerbahce's 5-0 thrashing of Karadeniz Atmacasi and Kasimpasa's 1-0 success, the mid-table outfit have claimed three wins and played out two draws since.
Although they have notched consecutive draws at the Caykur Didi Stadium after triumphs over Antalyaspor, Trabzonspor and Kayserispor, recent encouraging results against Adana will fill the home support with confidence heading into gameweek 21.
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ADS have been on the wrong end of marginal defeats in the previous match-ups with the Rize-based club, falling to a 1-0 defeat in the corresponding fixture last season and losing 2-1 in this term's reverse encounter.
Although Michael Valkanis was in charge of that August 17 fixture, the managerial upheaval at the club has seen Serkan Damla also depart before Mustafa Dalci's arrival at the backend of November.
Despite receiving a three-point deduction imposed by the TFF licensing board for administrative shortcomings shortly after his arrival, consecutive wins over Besiktas (2-1) and Hatayspor lifted the mood to close out 2024, offering marginal hope for the bottom side.
However, three consecutive losses against Basaksehir (1-0), Gaziantep (1-0) and Fenerbahçe (4-0) have dampened the mood for Dalci's men, who sit 15 points behind Sivasspor in 15th with 17 rounds remaining.
With 15 goals scored and 42 conceded — second fewest and worst for both metrics — hope is at an all-time low for the league's bottom club against a team they have lost to in consecutive meetings.
Team News
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Rizespor are missing Ivo Grbic and Mithat Pala due to suspension, while Eray Korkmaz (foot) is absent due to injury.
Three of Ali Sowe's six league goals have been match-winning strikes, sitting below Baris Alper Yilmaz, Youssef En-Nesyri, Ciro Immobile (four apiece) and Mame Thiam (five), and the forward aims to add to his tally of decisive contributions.
Adana Demirspor are without Andrew Gravillon, whose severe knee injury rules him out for the season, while Breyton Fougeu, Tayfun Aydogan and Salih Kavrazli are in the wars.
The visitors are also without suspended pair Izzet Celik and Yusuf Barasi, with Florent Shehu and Nabil Alioui deputising for both.
With Barasi suspended, the away side must find goals from elsewhere without their five-goal forward; Abat Aimbetov will lead the attack, aiming to add to his three league strikes.
Caykur Rizespor possible starting lineup:
Cetin; Sahin, Mocsi, Aliqulov, Hojer; Papanikolaou, Hadziahmetovic; Ghezzal, Olawoyin, Akintola; Sowe
Adana Demirspor possible starting lineup:
Donmezer; Guler, Kalender, Manev; Kurtulan, Shehu, Maestro, Burak; Kol, Aymbetov, Alioui
We say: Caykur Rizespor 2-0 Adana Demirspor
Given Adana Demirspor's three away losses in the previous four and six from nine overall and Rizespor clinching 11 points from the last available five on their turf, the hosts should secure maximum points to extend their undefeated sequence at the Caykur Didi Stadium to six.
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