Two teams at opposing ends of the Super Lig table will meet on Sunday when 14th-placed Giresunspor host Alanyaspor, who will be hoping to maintain their European place in the division.
The hosts head into the fixture following two games without a win, while the visitors secured a dominant 6-0 victory in their most recent outing.
Match preview
Giresunspor are without a victory in their previous two matches, which is something they will be looking to address on Sunday as they aim to get their season back on track.
However, their most recent result, a 1-1 draw, was not a poor one due to the fact they were facing league leaders Trabzonspor, with Mehmet Umut Nayir scoring for his team.
Despite that, Hakan Keles will be looking for more from his team moving forwards, as they are currently 14th-placed in the league table, which is something they are looking to improve upon.
With only three points separating them and the relegation zone, there is a lot on the line in each game, as a defeat has the potential to sink them into the bottom four.
That is why the squad will be desperate for three points at the weekend, in what would be their second of the New Year following a 1-0 victory against Galatasaray at the start of the month.
However, when the two teams last met it was Alanyaspor who claimed the victory, with a goal from Chidozie Awaziem in the eighth minute being enough on the day.
There was no shortage of goals during their midweek encounter, as they put six past Hatayspor, which included a hat-trick from Emre Akbaba.
The major result helped the club into fourth place, which is something they are clinging onto via goal difference ahead of Besiktas and their most recent opponents.
While things are tight behind them, Alanyaspor have the potential to leapfrog Fenerbahce with a victory on Sunday if results go in their favour.
The squad are undefeated in their last five games across all competitions, and they have managed to keep three clean sheets in that period, showcasing the confidence they are operating with right now.
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Team News
The hosts have both Souleymane Doukara and Hamidou Traore missing at the moment due to the Africa Cup of Nations, while Erol Akdag is also unavailable for the rest of the season due to injury.
Joey Pelupessy will continue to serve a suspension following a straight red card, but Emre Tasdemir could be available on Sunday after a spell on the sidelines.
Alanyaspor will be without a trio of players due to the Africa Cup of Nations, with Awaziem, El Mami Tetah and Famara Diedhiou all on international duty.
After scoring three goals in their most recent outing, Akbaba is sure to retain his place in the starting lineup for the third match in a row, while Umut Gunes will return from suspension on Sunday.
Giresunspor possible starting lineup:
Kocuk; Bilazer, Diarra, Perez, Tasdemir; Yavru, Flavio; Serginho, Diabate, Suleymanov; Nayir
Alanyaspor possible starting lineup:
Marafona; Juanfran, Bayir, Aksor, Borja; Novais, Karaca, Akbaba, Bekiroglu, Davidson; Eduardo
We say: Giresunspor 0-3 Alanyaspor
These two teams are at opposite ends of the table, and the visitors are certainly the favourites heading in based on current form, which should see them pick up another three points.
Alanyaspor have been impressive offensively in recent games, while their ability to keep clean sheets also helps their cause.
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 Giresunspor win with a probability of 40.18%. A win for Alanyaspor had a probability of 33.43% and a draw had a probability of 26.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Giresunspor win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.27%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.57%) and 2-0 (7.01%). The likeliest Alanyaspor win was 0-1 (9.19%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.54%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 3.1% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted that Alanyaspor would win this match.
