Kayserispor will be bidding to make it six games unbeaten in all competitions when they continue their Turkish Super Lig campaign away to Gaziantep on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors are currently eighth in the table, boasting 20 points from their opening 12 matches of the season, while Gaziantep sit 10th, having collected 15 points from their first 11 games of the campaign.
Match preview
Gaziantep have been present in Turkey's top flight since 2019, finishing eighth, ninth and 15th in their three seasons at this level of football, and it has been a solid start to 2022-23 for the club.
Indeed, a record of four wins, three draws and four defeats from 11 matches has seen them collect 15 points, which is enough for 10th position in the table heading into the next set of fixtures.
Erol Bulut's side will enter this match off the back of a 2-0 defeat to Alanyaspor in the league last weekend, which followed victories over Konyaspor and Sariyer in the league and cup respectively.
Gaziantep have actually only won one of their last seven in the league, although their home record has been strong throughout the year, only suffering one defeat, which was back in February against Adana Demirispor.
Bulut's team have won four and drawn seven of their 11 matches in Turkey's top flight on home soil, and they will be bidding to extend that impressive unbeaten run when they host Kayserispor.
The visitors will bring a five-game unbeaten run into Sunday's contest, having drawn two and won three of their games since a 2-1 home loss to Trabzonspor in the league at the start of October.
Kayserispor will enter this match off the back of a 2-2 draw with Adana Demirspor last weekend, which ended a three-game winning run over Galatasaray, Igdir and Kasimpasa.
Cagdas Atan's side finished 14th in the Turkish Super Lig last term, boasting 47 points from their 38 matches, which was one point and one position above their opponents on Sunday.
Kayserispor have a record of six wins, two draws and four defeats from their 12 league games this term to sit in eighth position in the table, while they have already scored 17 times in the Super Lig this term, which is one of the stronger attacking records in the division.
Team News
Gaziantep will again be without the services of Abdulkadir Parmak and Mustafa Eskihellac for this weekend's contest due to injury problems.
Head coach Bulut is expected to make at least a couple of changes to the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Alanyaspor last time out.
Tomas Pekhart is likely to return at centre-forward, which would see Joao Figueiredo move into a wide area, while Ertugrul Ersoy is pushing to return in a defensive area for the home side.
As for Kayserispor, Joseph Attamah, Nurettin Korkmaz and Arif Kocaman remain unavailable for selection.
Head coach Atan will have been pleased with his team's performance against high-flying Adana Demirspor last time out, so it would not be a surprise to see the same starting XI for this match.
Mario Gavranovic was again on the scoresheet last time out and should continue at centre-forward, but Miguel Cardoso might have to again accept a spot on the bench despite netting as a substitute last time out.
Gaziantep possible starting lineup:
Guvenc; Djilobodji, Ersoy, Tosca; Artan, Soyalp, Jevtovic, Sagal; Figueiredo, Pekhart, Maxim
Kayserispor possible starting lineup:
Bayazit; Bulut, Karimi, Hosseini, Carole; Civelek, Kemen, Campanharo, Mensah, Thiam; Gavranovic
We say: Gaziantep 1-1 Kayserispor
There is not an awful lot between these two sides in terms of quality, and we are expecting a close match on Sunday afternoon. Gaziantep have only lost once at home in the league this season, but they have drawn plenty, including their last two, and we can see another stalemate in this contest.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
