Gameweek 14 in the Super Lig will see Ankaragucu take on a stuttering Besiktas at Eryaman Stadyumu in Sunday's tea-time kickoff.
The hosts are currently in 11th place in the league standings with 16 points after 13 games, while the visitors are third with 25 points over the same period.
Match preview
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After successfully navigating their first season back in the top flight last term, Ankaragucu have made another steady start in the current campaign and will be hoping to build on that as they head toward the halfway point of the season.
Emre Belozoglu took charge of the side from Tolunay Kafkas at the start of October and has made a promising start to his tenure, currently holding a record of four wins, one draw and two losses in seven games.
The most recent of those matches ended in a 1-0 win away to Gaziantep last weekend, followed by a 2-0 TSYD cup victory over lower league outfit Genclerbirligi during the international break.
Perhaps the thing that the new boss will be most pleased with is that his side maintained back-to-back clean sheets in those matches, which is something they failed to do under the previous manager.
Meanwhile, Besiktas need to put together a solid run of results over the festive period, or they could find themselves out of the title race much sooner than most would have expected.
The Black Eagles have already fallen nine points off league leaders Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, while Adana Demispor and Trabzonspor are firmly in their rearview mirror, just two points behind.
Caretaker manager Riza Calimbay's side returned from the international break with a 2-1 win over Samsunspor last weekend, when Omar Colley scored the winner after Cenk Tosun opened the scoring early in the first half.
However, it was a completely different story in midweek, when they were walloped 5-0 by Club Brugge in the Conference League and were essentially knocked out of the competition as a result.
While they may still have a match to play in Europe, albeit a formality, Besiktas will need to refocus their efforts domestically now, and a solid result will give them a much-needed boost of confidence as they try to reel in the league leaders.
Team News
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Uros Radakovic will miss this match due to an accumulation of yellow cards, which should mean that Matej Hanousek will fill in at centre-back alongside Nihad Mujakic.
Tolga Cigerci sustained a thigh injury before the international break and is likely to miss the next couple of weeks, while Ali Kaan Guneren is flagged as a doubt due to physical discomfort.
In the opposite dugout, though, Calimbay has an extensive injury list, which has impacted his side's performances massively this season.
Long-term absentees include Tayyib Talha Sanuc (ACL), Emrecan Uzunhan (ACL), Arthur Masuaku (thigh) and Valentin Rosier (foot).
Players hopeful of returning by the end of the year include Bakhtiyar Zaynutdinov, Salih Ucan, Eric Bailly, Jean Onana and Milot Rashica.
Ankaragucu possible starting lineup:
Gungordu; Uludag, Mujakic, Hanousek, Cankaya; Cephas, Morutan, Bekiroglu, Pedrinho, Bajic; Sowe
Besiktas possible starting lineup:
Gunok, Meras, Colley, Uysal, Komec; Hadziahmetovic, Fernandes, Bulut; Muleka, Tosun, Oxlade-Chamberlain
We say: Ankaragucu 1-2 Besiktas
Besiktas have been hit with a staggering amount of injuries this season, and their performances in Europe and domestically have notably suffered. However, with a few key players starting to work their way back, the Black Eagles will be looking for major improvement during the December period. This will not be an easy trip for the visitors, but we fancy them to grind out a slender victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
