Gaziantep will look to make it back-to-back wins in the Turkish Super Lig when they travel to Alanya to take on Alanyaspor on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors have had a success story in the last week – they first reached the next round of the Turkish Cup with a 4-0 win against Efeler 09 Spor, followed by a 2-0 home win against Caykur Rizespor – while the hosts come from a 1-0 defeat against Kayserispor.
Match preview
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Alanyaspor have struggled in the Turkish Super Lig in recent weeks, losing their last three games in a row - the last win came against Fatih Karagumruk before the October international break, which was more than a month ago.
Monday night's 1-0 defeat to Kayserispor was the first game for newly-appointed coach Fatih Tekke, who had very little time to make the tactical adjustments Alanyaspor need to stay out of a potential relegation battle.
The team are yet to gain momentum this season, with just two wins in 11 games, including a six-game winless streak during a stretch of the season from mid-August to early October in which they picked up only four points.
A 4-1 win over Belediye Kutahyaspor in the cup competition briefly lifted their spirits and was also their second home win in the last three games, which could easily boost their confidence ahead of Saturday's encounter.
What makes matters worse, however, is the fact that Alanyaspor have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last nine games, while their attacking performances have been poor with just nine goals scored in 11 games - the joint-second lowest tally in the division.
Gaziantep, on the other hand, come into this game in a much better mental state than Alanyaspor, even though the visitors are only two points above them in the league standings.
Marius Sumudica's men have won three of their last four matches in all competitions and have also won four of their last six Super Lig matches, beating Istanbulspor, Samsunspor, Antalyaspor and Caykur Rizespor.
An improved performance in recent weeks has seen them move out of the relegation zone and they are currently in 13th place with 12 points; another win on Saturday could see them climb into the top half of the Super Lig table if the other results go their way.
However, the team's inconsistency is a major problem despite the improved results in recent weeks, as Gaziantep have the most defeats in the league this season with seven along with bottom two Samsunspor and Istanbulspor.
Even more worrying is their away record – Gaziantep have won just once away from home this season, losing the other five games - while their attacking record is also a cause for concern, joining Saturday's opponents as the joint-second lowest scorers in the division.
Team News
The home side go into this game without any major absentees - only right-back Loide Augusto is out with an injury and will be missing.
Florent Hadergjonaj has replaced him at right-back in recent weeks and is expected to be back in the starting XI.
Strikers Carlos Eduardo and Sergio Cordova are Alanyaspor's biggest threat in attack, having already scored three goals this season, and seem to work best in a traditional 4-4-2 system.
In contrast, the visitors are much more unlucky with injuries, with five first-team players currently unavailable.
Both Lazar Markovic and Marko Jevtovic will miss Saturday's game, with Max-Alain Gradel and Janio Bikel expected to replace the injured duo in midfield.
Also missing are Ulas Zengin, Batuhan Ahmet Sen and Albian Ajeti, who have yet to make a significant contribution for Alanyaspor this season.
Denis Dragus has scored in two consecutive games for Gaziantep and will be looking to continue his scoring streak on Saturday.
Alanyaspor possible starting lineup:
Taskiran; Hadergjonaj, Aksoy, Bayir, Aliti, Ozdemir; Karaca, Novais, Janvier, Aydin; Eduardo
Gaziantep possible starting lineup:
Nita; M'Bakata, Kizildag, N'Koulou, Djilobodji, Morais; Ozcicek, Bikel, Eskihellac; Gradel, Dragus
We say: Alanyaspor 1-2 Gaziantep
Gaziantep have had a perfect week, with two wins from two games and no goals conceded, which should see them as favourites for Saturday's game, despite their poor away record this season.
It will be Alanyaspor's second game under Tekke, and the home support could be an important factor in his search for his first points as a new coach, but we are backing the hosts to come away empty-handed.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
