Eyupspor will be desperate to halt their poor run of form in the Turkish Super Lig when they host Konyaspor at the Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadium on Sunday.
Arda Turan's men are without a win in their last four league games, dealing a major blow to their European ambitions, while the visitors are looking to extend their gap from the relegation zone.
Match preview
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February was the beginning of a tough period for Eyupspor, as they are yet to win a competitive match since the start of the previous month.
Their winless run began with a 3-1 defeat to Konyaspor in the Turkish Cup and has since extended to six matches across all competitions, with three more losses and two draws.
A home draw with Kayserispor is the only point Turan's side have picked up in their last four league outings, with a 1-0 defeat to Trabzonspor and 3-1 losses against Besiktas and Gaziantep contributing to their drop to fifth in the table, four points off fourth place.
Losing Ahmed Kutucu to Galatasaray in January has had a significant impact on Eyupspor, particularly in attack, as they have failed to score more than once in any of their last eight matches in all competitions, a key factor in their dip in form.
History is also against them in this fixture, as they have never scored more than once in any of their seven meetings with Konyaspor, a trend that looks set to continue given their recent struggles in front of goal.
Additionally, Eyupspor have found it tough to secure wins against Konyaspor, managing just one victory in seven encounters while losing four times, including two defeats this season in the league and domestic cup.
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Konyaspor, on the other hand, will be pleased with the timing of this clash, having just secured a morale-boosting 1-0 home win over Trabzonspor, ending a three-game winless streak.
Before that victory, the Anatolian Eagles had won just one of their previous 10 league matches, slipping dangerously close to the relegation battle – however, they now have a four-point cushion to build on.
That said, Konyaspor have also struggled for goals recently, which has been a major issue in their campaign – Recep Ucar's side have not scored more than once in any of their last four competitive matches and have drawn a blank in two of them.
Their away form is another concern heading into Sunday's game, as they are winless in their last four matches on the road across all competitions, losing two and drawing two.
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Team News
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Eyupspor remain without long-term absentees Fredrik Midtsjo and Taskin Ilter, who will miss the rest of the season.
Melih Kabasakal is also sidelined, along with Recep Niyaz, Sinan Gumus and Leo Dubois, who will all miss this fixture.
Caner Erkin is suspended after receiving a stoppage-time red card against Gaziantep, but Robin Yalcin is available again after serving his one-match ban.
For Konyaspor, goalkeeper Jakub Slowik remains sidelined through injury, which means Deniz Ertas will remain in goal.
Emmanuel Boateng is also ruled out, while Marko Jevtovic is suspended, meaning Morten Bjorlo is likely to start.
Eyupspor possible starting lineup:
Ozer; Vezo, Clear, Yalcin, Bingo, Meras; Stepanenko, Kayan, Mor; Ampem, Thiam, Akbunar
Konyaspor possible starting lineup:
Ertas; Boranijasevic, Demirbag, Yazgili, William; Ibrahimoglu, Pedro, Bjorlo; Erdogan, Kramer, Prip
We say: Eyupspor 1-1 Konyaspor
Eyupspor's home form was once their biggest strength this season, but it has dipped in recent weeks, and when you couple this with their struggles in front of goal, what seemed like a routine win now looks far less certain.
Given Konyaspor's tendency to rise to the occasion in this fixture and their morale-boosting win last time out, we are predicting a draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
