In a clash of teams at opposite ends of the Turkish Super Lig table, Adana Demirspor host Fenerbahce at the New Adana Stadium.
While the hosts will be hoping for a miracle to ignite their survival hopes, the visitors aim to avoid slipping further behind in the title race.
Match preview
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Fenerbahce have been inconsistent in their performances but have managed to grind out results – their last league outing saw them edge Konyaspor 3-2, thanks to two set-piece goals and an opposition goalkeeper error.
That victory kept the Kadikoy-based side in the title race, narrowing the gap to league leaders Galatasaray to eight points midway through the season.
However, the week has been overshadowed by off-field controversies, as Fenerbahce released a statement accusing Galatasaray's recent victory over Istanbul Basaksehir of being "gifted" and alleging bias from VAR.
Galatasaray responded with a defiant statement, while Konyaspor added to the drama by posting a video highlighting perceived refereeing errors in their loss to Fenerbahce.
Amid this chaos, the Yellow Canaries must remain focused on their on-pitch performance – with little margin for error, they cannot afford to drop points, especially as they seek to maintain pressure on Galatasaray.
Though they are unbeaten in their last five meetings with the hosts, Fenerbahce will aim to avoid a third consecutive draw at the New Adana Stadium.
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Adana Demirspor suffered another setback last week, losing 1-0 away to Gaziantep after conceding in the first half and failing to recover.
Following a brief resurgence, which saw them secure their only two league wins of the season – against Besiktas and Hatayspor – the Blue Lightnings have now lost two consecutive games, deepening their relegation woes.
Mustafa Dalci's side faces an uphill battle to escape the drop, currently sitting 15 points from safety, and their dismal campaign has been further compounded by a points deduction for financial disciplinary issues, leaving them with just five points.
Despite their struggles, Adana will hope to draw inspiration from their past encounters with Fenerbahce – the reverse fixture ended in a narrow 1-0 defeat, while their last two home meetings with the Yellow Canaries have resulted in stalemates.
Defensively, Adana have shown slight improvement, conceding one goal each in their last two games – however, they continue to allow too many shots on target, averaging six per game within that time, a vulnerability that could be exploited by the visitors' potent attack.
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Team News
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Adana Demirspor will be without Andrew Gravillon, who is sidelined for the season with a cruciate ligament injury.
Breyton Fougeu is also unavailable, but the rest of the squad is fit, with no suspensions to contend with.
For Fenerbahce, Irfan Can Egribayat will continue in goal as Dominik Livakovic remains out with an injury until the end of January.
Jayden Oosterwolde and Rodrigo Becao are both sidelined for the season with cruciate ligament injuries, while Ismail Yuksek is also unavailable.
Manager Jose Mourinho has recently adopted a back-three system, and the Portuguese tactician is expected to stick with this setup for Sunday's clash.
Adana Demirspor possible starting lineup:
Donmezer; Burak, Kalender, Guler; Kaynak, Maestro, Celik, Kurtulan; Kol, Aymbetov, Barasi
Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:
Egribayat; Soyuncu, Djiku, Muldur; Aydin, Fred, Szymanski, Kostic; Tadic; En-Nesyri, Dzeko
We say: Adana Demirspor 0-2 Fenerbahce
While the hosts may show resilience, their defensive frailties could be exposed by the Yellow Canaries' attacking firepower.
Fenerbahce's title hopes leave little room for error, and they should secure a comfortable victory thanks to their superior quality and Adana Demirspor's struggles.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
