Two sides vying for a top-four finish in the Turkish Super Lig go head-to-head when Istanbul Basaksehir host Kasimpasa at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts currently occupy fourth place and a win will see them retain the Europa Conference League spot, despite Besiktas potentially overtaking them temporarily.
Match preview
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Basaksehir secured their third consecutive win with a 2-1 victory over Hatayspor at the Mersin Stadium last Saturday.
Cagdas Atan's men took the lead through Krzysztof Piatek in the fifth minute before Olivier Kemen doubled the advantage in the 69th minute. The Grey Owls held on for the win despite Hatayspor pulling a goal back in the 73rd minute.
As a result, Basaksehir have climbed to fourth place in the Turkish Super Lig table, one point ahead of Besiktas in the race for European qualification.
Next up is an opposing team they have beaten in the last seven meetings, with six of those coming in the Super Lig.
Currently on a four-match unbeaten run on home soil, the hosts will hope to extend this streak on Sunday against a side they have defeated 10 times in 18 home games.
Kasimpasa ended a two-match losing streak with a 1-0 victory over Samsunspor at the Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadium last Saturday, courtesy of Aytac Kara's early goal.
The Apaches remain seventh in the Turkish Super Lig table, three points behind Sunday's opponents in the race for the final European spot.
After ending a run of two consecutive away defeats with a win over Gaziantep in their last away match, the visitors will be hoping to win two away games in a row for the first time since January.
They are the fourth-best team on the road this season, having picked up 24 points from 17 away matches. However, their last victory against Sunday's opposition came back in 2020.
Team News
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Basaksehir will be without Emirhan IIkhan who is suspended for one match due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
Efe Koyuncu is also unavailable for this weekend's clash as he continues his spell on the sidelines with a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Patryk Szysz also misses out for the hosts with a knee injury which has seen him out of action since the back end of the 2022-23 campaign.
Mamadou Fall is suspended for the visitors as he serves a one-match ban for an excessive number of yellow cards.
Erdem Cetinkaya remains sidelined due to a knee injury, while midfielder Dries Saddiki who remains a considerable way off making his return to action.
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Sengezer; Duarte, Ba, Opoku, Sahiner; Souza, Ozcan; Turuc, Pelkas, Figueiredo; Piatek
Kasimpasa possible starting lineup:
Gianniotis; Gedik, Ozcan, Omeruo, Winck; Gul, Kara, Hajradinovic; Ouanes, Da Costa, Dilli
We say: Istanbul Basaksehir 1-0 Kasimpasa
Basaksehir are in solid form right now and are determined to remain in the top four by the end of the season. The hosts are also on a winning run against the visitors and we think they will extend this streak on Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
