Bodrumspor will look to secure their first points of the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig season when they host Konyaspor at Bodrum Ilce Stadi on Saturday.
The hosts have lost both of their matches so far, while the visitors head into this clash on the back of their first defeat of the season.
Match preview
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Bodrum secured promotion to the Super Lig for the first time in their history after defeating Sakaryaspor in the play-off final.
However, life in the Super Lig has been challenging for the club from Mugla, as they lost 1-0 to Gaziantep in their first-ever Super Lig match on the opening weekend and were then thrashed 4-1 by another newly-promoted side, Eyupspor, on matchday two.
Ismet Tasdemir's side took the lead against Eyupsor in the 30th minute via Zdravko Dimitrov and were ahead at half-time - however, a woeful second-half performance saw them concede four goals.
The defeat against Gaziantep was Bodrum's first home defeat since losing 1-0 to Eyupsor back in March, which was also the start of a three-match winless run on home soil – the last time they failed to win in consecutive home matches.
The loss to Eyupsor was also the start of a three-match winless run, which was the last time this happened to Tasdemir's men – a run included draws with Bandirmirspor and Boluspor – and If they fail to win on Saturday, they will match this poor streak.
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After narrowly escaping relegation last season, Konyaspor entered the new campaign determined to avoid a repeat, and they began on a promising note, securing a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Kasimpasa on the road.
However, the Anadolu Kartali were unable to maintain this momentum, suffering a 2-1 defeat against reigning champions Galatasaray on matchday two.
Ali Camdali's side fell behind when Kerem Akturkoglu found the net for Gala in the 41st minute, but Ogulcan Ulgun levelled the score four minutes later.
Unfortunately, Konyaspor conceded a goal just before the hour mark, leaving them with three points from a possible six and their first loss of the 2024-25 Super Lig season.
The last time Konya won consecutive away games was a three-match streak between late April and early May in 2023. They will aim to replicate this feat against Bodrum on Saturday.
Team News
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Bodrum will be without Suleyman Ozdamar and Tunahan Akpinar, who are sidelined due to foot and calf injuries, respectively and on their recovery journeys.
Mustafa Erdilman, who suffered a cruciate ligament tear during pre-season, is also out for an extended period and not expected back in action next February.
Konyaspor, meanwhile, will continue to be without summer signing Josip Calusic, with the 30-year-old centre-back still recovering from a ligament injury.
Umut Nayir, one of four different scorers for Konyaspor this season, is expected to lead the line again when the team takes to the pitch on Saturday.
Bodrumspor possible starting lineup:
Sousa; Ergun, Herelle, Aytemur, Sen; Mohammed, Dimitrov, Brazao, Ribeiro, Yalcin; Bayrakdar
Konyaspor possible starting lineup:
Slowik; Yazgili, Jevtovic, Demirbag, Guilherme; Ulgun; Ndao, Aleksic, Pedrinho, Erdogan; Nayir
We say: Bodrumspor 0-1 Konyaspor
Konyaspor are expected to dominate against newly-promoted Bodrum, as their experience and goalscoring ability should give them a significant advantage.
While Bodrum's home advantage and determination to prove themselves could make this match more competitive than anticipated, we ultimately expect a narrow victory for the hosts.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
