Round seven of the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig season will kick off with Sivasspor hosting Istanbul Basaksehir at the Yeni Sivas 4 Eylul Stadyumu.
The hosts are unbeaten in their last two matches, while the visitors will be eager to bounce back from their first defeat of the season.
Match preview
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Sivasspor were unable to build on their win against Gaziantep, as they settled for a goalless draw with Konyaspor at Torku Arena last Saturday.
The result saw Bulent Uygun's side slip one place to ninth in the league table, with eight points from six matches, and the Braves will have the chance to go three games without a defeat for the first time this season when they face Basaksehir on Friday.
However, their recent record against Basaksehir may cast doubt on their ability to achieve this, as they have been second-best in the majority of their encounters, including home matches.
In 24 home games against Basaksehir, Sivasspor have won only six, lost 11, and drawn seven, while Uygun's men have also been poor at home this season, winning just one of their three home matches, though their most recent victory came in their last home game against Gaziantep.
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Meanwhile, Istanbul suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 2-0 away at Samsunspor on Wednesday, as the team was unable to recover after conceding two goals within a seven-minute spell in the second half.
It was the first defeat across all competitions for Cagdas Atan's men, who had gone unbeaten in their first 10 competitive games this season, including five matches in the Conference League qualifying stage.
The Grey Owls have 10 points from five league matches, leaving them in fifth place, eight points behind league leaders Galatasaray, having played one fewer game.
Istanbul, whose six-match unbeaten run on the road ended with their recent defeat, will be hoping to start another positive run with Friday's game, and they will be encouraged by their unbeaten run at Sivasspor since 2017.
Team News
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Sivasspor will be without Mehmet Albayrak, who remains sidelined as he continues his recovery from an ACL injury, and only anticipated to return in April.
Alaaddin Okumus will also miss the game with an ankle injury that is expected to keep him out until the early parts of next month.
As for the visitors, they will have the complement of a full squad heading into this clash with no player injured or suspended.
Krzysztof Piatek, who has four goals in five league appearances so far, will be the man to watch for Basaksehir when he starts in attack.
Sivasspor possible starting lineup:
Vural; Paluli, Sundberg, Radakovic, Ciftci; Moutoussamy, Charisis; Bassan, Pritchard, Turgunboev, Ciftci; Rodrigues
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Sengezer; Duarte, Ba, Opoku, Lima; Ergun; Turuc, Crespo, Ozcan, Davidson; Piatek
We say: Sivasspor 1-2 Istanbul Basaksehir
Istanbul's defeat was a blip in what has been an excellent start to the season for them, and we think they still have the quality to dispatch a side like Sivasspor, whom they have dominated for a while.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
