Gaziantep will resume their Turkish Super Lig campaign with a crucial clash against Sivasspor at the Gaziantep Stadium on Saturday, aiming to put further distance between themselves and the relegation zone.
The hosts, who were inactive in the last round of fixtures, will be eager to end a three-match winless streak in the league.
Match preview
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Gaziantep started the year brightly, securing three wins and two draws in their first five matches across all competitions, but their form has since dipped, suffering three consecutive defeats—all by a single-goal margin.
Two of those losses came in the Super Lig—a 2-1 defeat at Samsunspor followed by a narrow 1-0 loss at home against league leaders Galatasaray.
More recently, Selcuk Inan's side crashed out of the Turkish Cup with a 1-0 loss away at Goztepe, and after an eight-day rest, they will be desperate to return to winning ways.
Gaziantep's urgency for maximum points is further fueled by their shrinking cushion over the relegation zone, which now stands at six points, having amassed 26 points from 21 matches.
GFK remain wary of their poor record in this fixture, having failed to win any of the last six meetings (four losses, two draws) across all competitions.
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Meanwhile, Sivasspor will look to extend their strong record against Gaziantep, having won 10 of their previous 17 encounters, including their last two visits to the Gaziantep Stadium.
However, the Braves are enduring a miserable run, securing just one win in their last 11 league outings and losing their last two matches.
Following a thrilling 5-2 victory over Kayserispor, Omer Erdogan's side have since suffered back-to-back defeats—a 1-0 loss to Eyupspor followed by a 2-0 reverse against Besiktas last Saturday.
With just three points separating them from the relegation zone, Sivasspor, currently in 15th place with 23 points from 22 matches, will be desperate to halt their slump.
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Team News
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Gaziantep remain without Godfrey Bitok, who is sidelined with a serious knee injury, while Enric Saborit also misses out due to an ankle issue.
With no fresh injury concerns, Inan is expected to retain the same starting XI that narrowly lost to Galatasaray.
Sivasspor, meanwhile, continue to grapple with muscle-related injuries, as defenders Ugur Ciftci and Samba Camara remain unavailable.
Midfielders Garry Rodrigues and Emrah Bassan are also sidelined, while Bengali-Fode Koita is still recovering and remains doubtful for this encounter.
Gaziantep possible starting lineup:
Bozan; Viana, Mandouki, Kizildag; Ndiaye; Maxim, Eskihallac, Kozlowski, Sorescu; Okereke, Lungoyi
Sivasspor possible starting lineup:
Vural; Erdal, Poungouras, Sundberg, Okumus; Moutoussamy, Cigerci, Charisis; Bekiroglu, Manaj, Simic
We say: Gaziantep 2-1 Sivasspor
Prior to the draw with Bodrum and the defeat against Galatasaray, Gaziantep had won nine straight matches at the Gaziantep Stadium, six of which were in the Super Lig, and we believe that they will return to winning ways against a Sivasspor side struggling for form.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
