Fenerbahce and Adana Demirspor square off in Super Lig on Monday evening with just two points separating the teams in the standings.
The fourth-placed hosts have put together a three-game unbeaten streak, while their opponents have played four matches without suffering defeat.
Match preview
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Already sitting 17 points adrift of runaway leaders Trabzonspor, Fenerbahce are realistically out of the title race, but they still have plenty to play for over the coming months.
That is despite the Turkish giants being without a manager, almost three weeks having now passed since Vitor Pereira was removed from his position after just 25 games.
At the time, Fenerbahce had won just three of their previous 13 matches in all competitions, but two victories and a draw have been posted since the Portuguese's departure.
Four points have come in the league, Fenerbahce recording a much-needed 2-0 victory over Yeni Malatyaspor on Boxing Day, and that result was followed up by progress in the cup three days later.
The Yellow Canaries hierarchy will realistically have someone lined up to take over in the dugout over the coming days, but for now, the club's players must stay focused on trying to remain in contention for second spot, the gap currently standing at seven points.
From Adana Demirspor's perspective, they will sense an opportunity to heap further frustration on their hosts, and there is an argument that they are favourites to prevail at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.
Their only defeat in eight fixtures has been away at Trabzonspor, with 17 points coming from their other seven matches, including 10 out of a possible 12.
The 1-1 draw at struggling Goztepe on Boxing Day was a considerable disappointment, particularly having led until the 78th minute, but it kept their points tally ticking over.
Mario Balotelli remains as the leading marksman for the sixth-placed club, the Italian having netted twice in his last three outings to take him to seven goals for the campaign.
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Team News
Substitutes Enner Valencia and Dimitrios Pelkas contributed to Fenerbahce's second goal against Malatyaspor during the last league game, putting them in line for a recall.
Mert Hakan Yandas may have to do with a spot among the replacements, while Serdar Dursun may join him after four Super Lig fixtures without a goal.
Balotelli is expected to miss out for Demirspor after testing positive for coronavirus over the Christmas break.
Simon Deli, who was a substitute last time out, will also be absent due to his participation at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Britt Assombalonga could be handed his first league start since the end of November,
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Ozer; Samuel, Min-Jae, Szalai, Novak; Sosa, Silva; Kahveci, Ozil, Pelkas; Valencia
Adana Demirspor possible starting lineup:
Muric; Svensson, Akaydin, Sanuc, Kanak; Stambouli, Kurt; Akgun, Bjarnason, Vargas; Assombalonga
We say: Fenerbahce 1-1 Adana Demirspor
Despite having aspirations to move higher in the standings, both teams are aware that a defeat could prove costly in the grand scheme of things. With that in mind, do not be surprised to see a low-scoring draw play out on Monday evening.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Fenerbahce win with a probability of 68.42%. A draw had a probability of 18% and a win for Adana Demirspor had a probability of 13.56%.
The most likely scoreline for a Fenerbahce win was 2-0 with a probability of 10.42%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.71%) and 1-0 (8.99%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.37%), while for an Adana Demirspor win it was 1-2 (3.9%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 3.9% likelihood.
