Seeking to pick up four Turkish Super Lig wins on the bounce for the first time since January 2020, Alanyaspor take on Gaziantep at the Gaziantep Stadium on Tuesday.
Having cruised to a 3-0 victory in November's reverse fixture, the Falcons head into the game looking to do the double over the visitors and move out of the relegation zone.
Match preview
Gaziantep were sent crashing back down to earth in their battle at the wrong end of the table as they fell to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Caykur Rizespor when the sides squared off just before the international break.
Following a relatively uneventful first half at the Caykur Didi Stadium, Deian Sorescu struck in the 54th minute to put the Falcons in front but goals from Ibrahim Alawoyin, Altin Zeqiri and an own goal from Salem M'Bakata saw Rizespor turn the game on its head in style.
Prior to that, Gaziantep snapped their three-game winless run on March 11 when they stunned Besiktas with a 2-0 victory at the Gaziantep Stadium courtesy of goals from Sorescu and Denis Dragus.
Selcuk Inan's men have now lost 15 of their 30 Super Lig matches this season while claiming eight wins and seven draws to collect 31 points and sit 17th in the table, two points off 16th-placed Konyaspor just above the relegation zone.
While Gaziantep will be looking to find their feet on Tuesday and pull clear of the danger zone, they have struggled to get going on home turf, where they have won just one of their last 11 league games and currently hold the division's second-worst record, having picked up just 17 points from 15 matches.
Alanyaspor, on the other hand, continue their push for a top-half finish last time out as they secured a late 1-0 victory over Kayserispor when the sides squared off before the international break.
Twenty-three-year-old Oguz Aydin grabbed the headlines at the Bahcesehir Okullari Stadium as he netted the only goal of the game in the 13th minute of stoppage time to condemn the Anatolian Star to their 11th defeat of the season.
With the result against Kayserispor, Fatih Tekke's side have now won three games on the bounce, scoring six goals and conceding twice, having failed to win six back-to-back matches preceding this run.
This upturn in form has seen Alanyaspor surge from the doldrums as they now sit 10th in the Super Lig standings, level on 39 points with ninth-placed Adana Demirspor with eight games left to go.
The Alanya outfit will be backing themselves to pick up where they left off before the break as they take on an opposing side against whom they are unbeaten in 11 of their last 14 encounters, picking up 10 wins and one draw since January 2015.
Team News
Gaziantep will have to cope without French defender M'Bakata, who is currently suspended after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking against Rizespor last time out.
In his absence, 25-year-old Arda Kizildag should return to the starting XI, forming the back four with Nicolas N'Koulou, Papy Djilobodji and former Istanbulspor man Ertugrul Ersoy.
On the injury front, Gaziantep remain without the services of Bryan Acosta, who is currently recuperating from a groin problem, while Ulas Zengin continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines through a leg injury.
Alanyaspor, on the other hand, will take to the pitch without Angolan defender Loide Augusto, who has missed the last two games since sustaining a muscle injury against Trabzonspor on March 4.
With his winner against Kayserispor, Aydin now has eight goals and five assists in 28 Super Lig matches and the 23-year-old midfielder will certainly be one to keep an eye out for.
Gaziantep possible starting lineup:
Nita; Ersoy, N'Koulou, Djilobodji, Kizildag; Ozcicek; Sorescu, Monteiro, Maxim, Eskihellac; Dragus
Alanyaspor possible starting lineup:
Taskiran; Hadergjonaj, Bayir, Aliti, Balkovec; Coelho, Fer; Aydin, Karaca, Ozdemir; Hassan
We say: Gaziantep 1-2 Alanyaspor
The last seven meetings between Gaziantep and Alanyaspor have produced a combined 23 goals and we anticipate another action-packed contest at the Gaziantep Stadium on Tuesday. Tekke's men appear to have hit their stride in recent weeks and we are backing them to come away with all three points once again.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
