The action resumes in the Turkish Super Lig as Antalyaspor and Kasimpasa go head to head at the Corendon Airlines Park on Wednesday evening.
This comes after the division's one-week suspension, following the heated clash between Ankaragucu and Caykur Rizespor, where now-resigned president Faruk Koca physically assaulted referee Halil Umut Meler.
Match preview
For Antalyaspor, Nuri Sahin will hope that his side are able to pick up where they left off before the forced break as they look to strengthen their position in the top half of the table.
The Akrepler carried the momentum from their 6-1 hammering of third-tier Antalya Kepezspor in the cup on December 5 as they held firm to see out a 2-1 league victory over Fatih Karagumruk before the break.
This was a seventh win and ninth consecutive game without defeat across all competitions for Antalyaspor, stretching back to October when they lost back-to-back games against Galatasaray and Gaziantep respectively.
The Antalya outfit have found their rhythm at the attacking end of the pitch, scoring 25 goals in their last nine matches, having kicked off the season with nine goals in their opening nine matches preceding this run.
Antalyaspor can also take pride in their recent form on home turf, where they have won six of their last seven matches in all competitions, with a goalless draw against Rizespor on November 26 being the exception.
However, they will need to show their mettle in midweek as they go up against an opposing side who won both home and away meetings between the teams last season and are unbeaten in their last three visits to the Corendon Airlines Park.
The one-week break should have given Kasimpasa time to go back to the drawing board as they look to bounce back from a disappointing 4-2 defeat at the hands of newly-promoted Samsunspor in their last outing.
Their struggles on the road were underlined as goals from Emre Kilinc and Olivier Ntcham and a first-half brace from Marius Mouandilmadji put Samsunspor in a commanding four-goal lead before Yasin Ozcan and Nuno Da Costa scored injury-time goals to halve the deficit.
This result saw Kasimpasa come crashing back to earth after they had picked up two wins in their previous two matches, edging out Gaziantep 4-2 on December 3, three days before thrashing Kirehir 4-1 at home in the cup.
Following their loss to Samsunspor, Sami Ugurlu's men have now suffered defeat in each of their last three away matches, conceding eight goals and scoring three since a 1-0 victory at Sivasspor on October 22.
Kasimpasa have now lost six of their 15 matches so far, while picking up six wins and three draws to collect 21 points and sit ninth in the Super Lig table, two points and two places behind Wednesday's hosts.
Team News
Antalyaspor will take to the pitch without the services of experienced midfielder Erdal Rakip, who picked up a first-half red card against Karagumruk last time out.
In his absence, 21-year-old Jakub Kaluzinski should come into the fold, forming the midfield two-man pivot with Bosnia and Herzegovina international Dario Saric.
Helton Leite is currently recuperating from a shoulder injury, while Adam Buksa, who took his goal involvement tally to 10 in the league with his strike against Karagumruk (eight goals and two assists), will be one to look out for.
Kasimpsa, on the other hand, remain without 27-year-old midfielder Samuel Bastien, who has missed the last eight matches after coming off injured in October's game against Fenerbahce.
Having served his suspension for his late red against Gaziantep on December 3, Nigerian centre-back Kenneth Omeruo is eligible to feature on Wednesday and should return to the fold for his 15th league start of the season.
Antalyaspor possible starting lineup:
Dadakdeniz; Balci, Sari, Toprak, Yesilyurt; Kaluzinski, Saric; Jehezkel, Safuri, Bytyqi; Buksa
Kasimpasa possible starting lineup:
Gianniotis; Winck, Omeruo, Ozcan, Aksu; Saddiki, Kara; Fall, Hajradinovic, Ouanes; Ngoy
We say: Antalyaspor 2-1 Kasimpasa
With just two points separating Antalyaspor and Kasimpasa in the top half of the table, we anticipate a thrilling contest with both sides taking the game to each other. Sahin's side have been rock-solid at home in recent weeks and we fancy them to claim all three points in front of their home supporters once again.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
