TFF 1. League-bound Sivasspor welcome UEFA Europa Conference League candidates Adana Demirspor to The New Sivas 4 Eylul Stadium on Saturday morning.
Riza Calimbay's side find themselves sitting in the Turkish Super Lig relegation zone, while the Blue Lightnings are three points behind the final European qualification spot.
Match preview
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Sivasspor are at risk of playing outside of the top flight of Turkish football for the first time since 2017 after undergoing struggles at home and across their Super Lig expeditions.
Calimbay's side sit in the final relegation position but remain adrift from safety only due to scoring fewer goals - 21 compared to 23 - than Antalyaspor.
The Braves have struggled to replicate last season's cup run that saw Sivasspor lift their maiden Turkish Cup after emerging victorious in only four league matches this season.
Possessing an 11% home league win ratio that has seen only one league win from nine matches, the Braves gave their supporters something to celebrate on January 17 by progressing to the quarter-finals of the cup with a 3-2 victory over lower-league opposition Karacabey Belediyespor.
Sivasspor's purple patch continued five days later as goals from Mustapha Yatabare and Caner Osmanpasa saw the visitors emerge victorious over Gaziantep - 2-1 - at the Gaziantep Stadium.
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Pursuing their maiden appearance in a UEFA-organised competition, Adana Demirspor have struggled on their expeditions across the current campaign after failing to experience the taste of victory on their footballing palates across their last four matches.
Seeking their first away league victory since defeating Kasimpasa 4-1 on October 15, Vincenzo Montella's side need to begin replicating their home form, where the Blue Lightnings are undefeated, to stand any chance of keeping tabs on the top three.
With momentum understandably down compared to when playing against the familiar backdrop of The New Adana Stadium, Adana Demirspor still scored the fourth-highest number of goals - 37 - throughout the 2022-23 league campaign.
After a 3-1 Super Lig victory over Ankaragucu on January 14, Montella's side were held to an ill-tempered draw with Giresunspor six days later, in which the Adana-based outfit needed an 84th-minute equaliser from Badou Ndiaye to salvage a share of the spoils.
Team News
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Sivasspor manager Riza Calimbay could make at least one alteration to the starting XI that began the victory over Gaziantep with defender Robin Yalcin available again after serving a one-match suspension.
After finding the back of the net on Sunday, Mustapha Yatabare will again join Max Gradel and Erdogan Yesilyurt in the final third for The Braves.
Off the back of scoring the winning goal against Gaziantep, defender Caner Osmanpasa could line up in a familiar-looking back four alongside the returning Yalcin, Dimitrios Goutas and Ziya Erdal at the Yeni Sivas 4 Eylul Stadium.
Despite a share of the spoils against Giresunspor, Adana Demirspor boss Vincenzo Montella will likely want to stick with most of the 11 that began the contest on Friday afternoon.
However, the Blue Lightnings will be without Yusuf Sari after his dismissal in second-half injury time, with Gokhan Tore likely to deputise next to Younes Belhanda in the final third.
Sivasspor possible starting lineup:
Vural; Yalcin, Goutas, Osmanpasa, Erdal; Ulvsted, Keita, Charisis; Yesilyurt, Yatabare, Gradel
Adana Demirspor possible starting lineup:
Ozbir; Svensson, Manev, Guler, Rodrigues; Stambouli, Inler, Ndiaye, Akbaba; Tore, Belhanda
We say: Sivasspor 1-2 Adana Demirspor
After only one defeat in the last six competitive encounters across all competitions between the two sides, we predict that Adana Demirspor will continue their one-sided historical head-to-head record on Saturday morning.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
