After seeing their unbeaten start to the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig season come to an end last time out, Eyupspor will do battle against Gaziantep at the Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadyumu on Sunday.
The away side, meanwhile, make the trip in need of a pick-me-up as they are yet to record a victory since coming out on top in the opening round of matches.
Match preview
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Having gained promotion to the top flight for the first time in the club's 105-year history, Eyupspor were tipped by many to struggle at this level, but it is safe to say their early form has suggested otherwise.
Led by Turkish legend Arda Turan, last year's TFF 1. Lig champions began life in the Super Lig with a 1-1 draw against Alanyaspor, which preceded back-to-back victories over Bodrumspor and Sivasspor.
Consecutive stalemates against Trabzonspor and Kayserispor soon followed for Turan's men before they were finally beaten for the first time this term by Besiktas in Sunday's encounter at the Tupras Stadium.
A tally of nine points from six games so far has Eyupspor currently sitting seventh in the standings heading into this weekend's meeting against an opposing side who were narrowly beaten in the only previous edition of this fixture—a friendly clash in 2022.
Eyupspor have earned a lot of plaudits for their impressive start to the campaign so far, but Sunday's hosts must now show their ability to bounce back to avoid falling into a downward spiral.
In keeping with their fine end to last season which yielded nine points from the final three matches, Gaziantep picked up where they left off with a 1-0 victory over Bodrumspor to kick off proceedings on a winning note.
Selcuk Inan's men came away empty-handed from their subsequent three outings against Samsunspor, Sivasspor and Galatasaray before snapping their losing streak with a goalless draw against Trabzonspor most recently.
While their performance was far from convincing, Gaziantep got a much-needed reprieve last time out, although the Hawks now sit outside the drop zone only on goal difference at the moment.
Behind Trabzonspor and Caykur Rizespor (three), Sunday's visitors have scored the second-fewest goals in the division and will need to up the ante at the top end of the pitch if they are to turn things around.
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Team News
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Midfielders Taskin Ilter and Recep Niyaz continue their respective spells on the sidelines with ankle and muscle problems respectively, with the former set to sit out a sixth straight game for Eyupspor.
Emre Mor is also unavailable for the home side here as he awaits his maiden appearance since joining from Fenerbahce on a season-long loan deal.
Kacper Kozlowski is not eligible to play any part for Gaziantep in this one due to an accumulation of yellow cards, while Mirza Cihan and Emre Tasdemir miss out through injury.
The visitors will also have to make do with the absence of Quentin Daubin and Mustafa Eskihellac, although Daubin is not far off a return to action.
Godfrey Stephen is bracing himself for a long time on the treatment table having suffered a tendon injury just over one month ago in a 1-0 defeat to Samsunspor.
Eyupspor possible starting lineup:
Ozer; Erkin, Claro, Yalcin, Dubois; Kabasakal, Sainz, Midtsjo; Kutucu, Thiam, Akbaba
Gaziantep possible starting lineup:
Dioudis; Artan, Kizildag, Viana, Saborit; Sorescu, Soyalp, Ndiaye, Lungoyi; Kozlowski, Okereke
We say: Eyupspor 1-0 Gaziantep
Eyupspor will back themselves to get the job done against a struggling Gaziantep side, and we are backing the home side to emerge victorious, albeit by only a narrow margin.
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Adepoju Marvellous
