The action continues in round 25 of the Turkish Super Lig as Samsunspor welcome Antalyaspor to the Samsun 19 May Stadium on Monday evening.
Both teams head into the clash, looking to bounce back after crashing out of the Turkish Cup during the week.
Match preview
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Samsunspor's dreams of cup glory were dashed on Tuesday after a narrow 2-1 defeat to Fatih Karagumruk in the Turkish Cup.
Marius Mouandilmadji had given the Red Lightning a glimmer of hope with a 68th-minute strike, but their lead was short-lived as Davide Biraschi equalised for Karagumruk just four minutes later, before Flavio Paoletti snatched the winner in the dying seconds.
This cup exit compounds Samsunspor's recent woes as they currently languish in 16th place in the Super Lig after losing 2-0 to Galatasaray in their last league outing.
Prior to losing their last two matches, Markus Gisdol's men had enjoyed a five-game unbeaten run across all competitions.
Despite the recent setbacks, Samsunspor can draw some solace from their strong home record as they boast the ninth-best home form in the Super Lig this season, having amassed 20 points from a possible 36 on home soil.
Additionally, they have emerged victorious in four of their last six league matches and will be aiming to avoid suffering consecutive home defeats for the second time this season.
Meanwhile, Antalyaspor shared a similar fate in the cup, bowing out to Besiktas in a 2-1 defeat despite taking the lead in the first half.
Their European aspirations also took a hit after a 2-0 defeat to league leaders Fenerbahce last time out. This snapped their seven-game unbeaten run across all competitions since the turn of the year, marking their first two-match losing streak since October 2023.
Currently sitting seventh in the Super Lig standings with 34 points from 24 matches, Sergen Yalcin's side find themselves four points adrift of the Europa Conference League qualification spot currently occupied by Kasimpasa, who have played a game more at the time of writing.
Back on the road, Antalyaspor will be looking to build upon their unbeaten run of three away matches, where they recorded two draws and a win.
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Team News
The hosts have a clean bill of health ending into this clash, leaving Gisdol with a wealth of options.
After finding the net in their cup exit, Mouandilmadji is expected to lead the line once again, with Olivier Ntcham playing the supporting role.
Meanwhile, Israeli striker Sagiv Jehezkel has missed each of Antalyaspor's last six matches through a club suspension and is also out of contention for Saturday's clash.
Other than that, the Scorpion boast a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns, giving Yalcin the luxury of a relatively full-strength squad at his disposal.
Adam Buksa now has 10 goals in 21 league appearances and we expect the Lens loanee to spearhead Antalyaspor's attack once again.
Samsunspor possible starting lineup:
Kocuk; Yavru, Satka, Ozturk, Bola; Tait, Antalyali; Kilinc, Ntcham, Raman; Mouandilmadji
Antalyaspor possible starting lineup:
Leite; Yesilyurt, Sari, Ozturk, Vural; Kaluzinski, Safuri; Bytyqi, Saric, Larsson; Buksa
We say: Samsunspor 1-2 Antalyaspor
While both teams are coming into this match off poor results, Antalyaspor look like the side likely to take the chance to stop their rot. However, we expect it to be a close battle given Samsunspor's decent home record this season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
