A stumbling Konyaspor will be hoping to move out of the drop zone in the Super Lig when they face off against Kayserispor at Konya Buyuksehir Belediye Stadyumu on Sunday evening.
The hosts are currently in 17th place in the league standings, with 15 points after the first 16 games of the season, while the visitors are third with 29 points over the same period.
Match preview
After finishing in the top three in the 2021-22 season and dropping to eighth in the table last term, Konyaspor's fall from grace has carried into this season as they find themselves heading to the midway point of the campaign in the midst of the relegation scrap.
The Anatolian Eagles are the first side below the dotted line as it stands and have posted a well-below-average record of just three wins, six draws and seven losses in their 16 league matches to date.
Aleksandar Stanojevic side were only able to secure a point in their midweek fixture against fellow relegation candidates Samsunspor, which saw their winless run in the top flight extended to three matches, following a draw to Alanyaspor and a loss against Sivasspor earlier this month.
Looking further back, Konyaspor have now won only one of their last 12 league matches, which was against Kasimpasa directly after the November international break, though that followed a run of five losses and a draw in the six preceding matches.
However, despite the situation they find themselves in, the hosts do have the personnel to get out of their current predicament and will gain some confidence from the fact that they are unbeaten in their last six matches (W3 D3 L0) against this opponent heading into this one.
Meanwhile, in almost complete contrast, Kayserispor's season-on-season progression has continued this term, following a 14th-placed finish in 2021-22 and a ninth-placed finish last term.
This season, the Anatolian Stars have improved even further and are in the hunt for a spot in Europe, currently holding down third place with a three-point cushion over Besiktas, who are the first side below the European qualification spots.
Since joining the team during the October international break, Recep Ucar has maintained an excellent record, winning six and drawing one of his first seven matches in charge.
However, that run was ended in midweek when his side ended on the wrong side of a 4-3 scoreline against Fenerbahce, though the new boss would likely have taken more positives from that match than negatives as his side pushed the league leaders all the way to the final whistle.
Ucar's side are carrying a three-match away winning streak into this fixture and will fancy their chances of extending that record against an opponent that have managed only three wins all season.
Team News
Konyaspor are set to remain without the services of Gokhan Tore (ankle) and Muhammet Demir (ACL), with both players out injured and only expected to return to the squad in the New Year.
Despite his side's struggles, Sokol Cikalleshi has managed to notch up six goals this season, leaving him joint-tenth in the league and almost certain to lead the line in this one.
Louka Prip and Marlos Moreno are expected to support the front man, while Ugurcan Yazgili will provide cover for the defence as the deepest-lying midfielder.
For the visitors, Anthony Uzodimma has been sidelined since picking up a knock in their 1-0 win over Trabzonspor at the start of the month and is only expected to return in a few weeks.
Joining Uzodimma on the treatment table are fellow defenders Lionel Carole and Julian Jeanvier, which will likely mean that Gokhan Sazdagi, Majid Hosseini, Joseph Attamah and Hasan Ali Kaldirim will line up in defence for this one.
Konyaspor possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Oguz, Demirbag, Calvo, Haubert; Dikmen, Yazgili, Cicaldau; Moreno, Cikalleshi, Prip
Kayserispor possible starting lineup:
Bayazit; Sazdagi, Hosseini, Attamah, Kaldirim; Karimi, Yilmaz, Boa Morte, Kemen, Cardoso; Thiam
We say: Konyaspor 1-2 Kayserispor
Kayserispor have been excellent since the arrival of Recep Ucar, and while they did concede their first loss since the new boss's arrival against Fenerbahce last week, they went toe-to-toe with the league leaders and were somewhat unlucky not to have got anything from the match. We are expecting another top-notch performance from the visitors in this one and fancy them to edge this match by the odd goal.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
