Looking to bounce back from a heavy defeat last time out, Sivasspor will welcome Europe-chasing Istanbul Basaksehir to BG Group 4 Stadium on Sunday evening in the Turkish Super Lig.
The Braves were bested at the home of Galatasaray in convincing fashion last time out, whilst the Grey Owls secured a comfortable success over Kasimpasa.
Match preview
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Following an impressive four-game unbeaten streak in the Super Lig - which yielded a commendable total of 10 points - Sivasspor were brought back down to reality last Sunday, when the visitors were smashed 6-1 at the intimidating home of title favourites Galatasaray.
Having dropped points on just four occasions so far in 2023-24, it was not surprising to see Okan Buruk's troops make light work of the Braves last weekend, with Hakim Ziyech, Dries Mertens and Mauro Icardi all breaching the net of Sivasspor goalkeeper Ali Sasal Vural on two occasions each.
After their heaviest defeat of the Super Lig campaign last time out, Bulent Uygun's men are currently occupying ninth position in the top-flight standings, seven points behind fourth place with only three matches remaining, meaning that a push for a European berth is highly unlikely.
That being said, the Braves will be confident of picking up some sort of result on Sunday evening when considering their record at BG Group 4 Stadium this season, with this weekend's hosts losing just three times in 17 home matches so far - only Galatasaray (zero) and Fenerbahce (one) have been defeated on fewer occasions at their respective bases.
Following the departure of last season's leading marksman Max Gradel to Gaziantep FK, the arrival of Rey Manaj has been a key one for Sivasspor this term, with the former Barcelona man netting 18 Super Lig goals in 30 appearances, three times as many as any of his teammates.
Istanbul Basaksehir's charge towards a top-three placement continued to gather pace last weekend, when the Grey Owls hosted seventh-placed Kasimpasa and secured a comfortable 4-1 victory, meaning that Sunday's visitors have now won four straight contests in the Super Lig.
After Dimitrios Pelkas opened the scoring for Basaksehir in the opening 20 minutes, the points seemed destined to go one way, with a brace from Davidson and a late strike from Olivier Kemen making complete sure of the victory as their side charge towards a spot on the continental stage.
With nine points left to fight for at the end of this enthralling Super Lig term, Cagdas Atan's charges are lying fourth in the league table, just three points behind Trabzonspor in the Europa League spot, with the two sides set to face off against each other next weekend.
Before then, the Grey Owls must overcome the challenge of Sivasspor to keep their chances of finishing third in reasonable shape, with Sunday's visitors looking to do the double over the Braves after securing a 3-1 success in December thanks to goals from Krzysztof Piatek and Greece international Pelkas.
Team News
Sivasspor are set to be without the services of midfielder Hakan Arslan, who suffered a groin injury in the middle of April and has failed to feature since.
Finding the net off the bench in the hammering at Galatasaray, centre-back Caner Osmanpasa could be promoted to the starting XI for Sunday's clash.
The 36-year-old would likely come into the side to partner Samba Camara and Aaron Appindangoye in a back three, potentially at the expense of Achilleas Poungouras.
Istanbul Basaksehir youngster Efe Arda Koyuncu is enduring an injury-blighted campaign, with the 18-year-old sidelined until the end of May due to a cruciate ligament injury.
Another man yet to play for the Grey Owls this season is Pole Patryk Szysz, who is also recovering from a cruciate ligament issue as the term draws to a close.
Sivasspor possible starting lineup:
Vural; Paluli, Osmanpasa, Appindangoye, Camara, Ciftci; Koita, Charisis, Akdag, Turgunbaev; Manaj
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Sengezer; Duarte, Ba, Gureler, Dubois; Ergun, Turuc, Sahiner, Aleksic, Davidson; Figueiredo
We say: Sivasspor 1-2 Istanbul Basaksehir
After being smashed at the home of Galatasaray, Sivasspor may find it difficult to return to winning ways against a Basaksehir side who are fighting at the top of the division.
The Grey Owls are hitting their stride at a critical point in the campaign, and we reckon that the visitors will have enough for maximum points this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
