Ankaragucu host Konyaspor at the Eryaman Stadium on Sunday afternoon, in the latest round of Turkish Super Lig fixtures.
The hosts are currently three points behind the visitors in the league table, meaning they would overtake them with a victory in this weekend's encounter.
Match preview
Ankaragucu have not looked particularly impressive in their opening five Turkish Super Lig games, collecting just five points, having finally managed to get their first win on the board in their last match.
In an away trip to Sivasspor, AG managed to end their four-games winless run, running out 3-1 winners after overturning a one-goal deficit, with Olimpiu Morutan, Tolga Cigerci and Renaldo Cephas all getting on the scoresheet.
Tolunay Kafkas will be relieved his side have now got their first win on the board, and they are now tasked with following it up by securing their first home victory of the season this weekend, having looked unimpressive in their other matches at the Eryaman Stadium.
It is fair to say Ankaragucu faced tough opposition in their last home match, coming up against Fenerbahce, but they will still be very disappointed they offered very little in the way of attacking threat, recording just two shots on target in the entire match.
AG lost their last home match against their upcoming opponents, albeit in a friendly game, losing 3-1 back in August, and they were defeated in this fixture last season, with Amir Hadziahmetovic scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win for the visitors.
Judging by their recent record against Ankaragucu, Konyaspor should fancy their chances heading into this weekend's game, and they have made a promising start to the season, taking eight points from their opening five games.
It took Aleksandar Stanojevic's side a little while to get going, playing out 1-1 draws in their first two matches, but they have since put in some impressive performances, picking up victories against Gaziantep FK and Istanbul Basaksehir.
The Anatolian Eagle were dominant throughout the match away in Istanbul, recording five shots on targets throughout the match, over double the amount of their opponents, and they got their reward in the second half, with Sokol Cikalleshi scoring to seal a 1-0 win.
Although there were some very promising signs on show in the capital, Konyaspor were unable to follow that performance up last time out, falling to a surprise 2-1 defeat at home against Rizespor last weekend, and they will need to put in a much-improved performance on Sunday.
Team News
Ankaragucu will be without striker Ali Sowe this weekend, as the 29-year-old missed the recent trip to Sivasspor through injury, meaning Riad Bajic is set to lead the line for the hosts.
Cephas scored after being brought on as a substitute against Sivasspor, and the Jamaican winger could be in line for a start on Sunday, potentially replacing Garry Rodrigues in the starting lineup.
Konyaspor have no fresh injury concerns ahead of this weekend's game, but Muhammet Demir remains on the sidelines, having been absent since the end of April due to a knee injury.
After the disappointing defeat against Rizespor last weekend, Stanojevic could be tempted to make a couple of changes to his side, with Yunus Malli potentially coming back in to replace Alexandru Cicaldau in the number 10 role.
Ankaragucu possible starting lineup:
Gungordu; Kitsiou, Radakovic, Mujakic, Hanousek; Dokanovic, Cigerci, Mortuan, Bekiroglu, Cephas; Bajic
Konyaspor possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Oguz, Yazgili, Calvo, Guilherme; Dikmen, N'Zonzi, Muric, Cicaldau, Moreno; Cikalleshi
We say: Ankaragucu 1-1 Konyaspor
Ankaragucu have not made the best of starts to the season, but they should head into Sunday's game full of confidence, fresh off the back of their first win.
On the other hand, Konyaspor looked unimpressive in their 2-1 defeat against a newly-promoted side last weekend, so we do not expect them to pick up any more than a point.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Dominic Lund
