The Turkish Super Lig returns with a fresh set of fixtures as Giresunspor play host to Caykur Rizespor in a bottom-of-the-table clash at the Giresun Ataturk Stadium on Saturday.
While the hosts head into the game fresh off the back of a morale-boosting win over Goztepe, the visitors were condemned to a 3-2 defeat against Galatasaray.
Match preview
Giresunspor finally picked up what was their first win of the season two Saturdays ago when they edged out Goztepe 1-0 at the Gursel Aksel Stadium.
In an end-to-end affair between the sides, Trabzonspor loanee Fousseni Diabate came up trumps for the visitors as he converted his 71st-minute spot kick to condemn the Goz Goz to yet another loss.
While it was a fourth defeat on the bounce for Goztepe, the result saw Giresunspor's winless start to the season come to an end as they had managed two draws and lost five of their previous seven outings.
Hakan Keles will be impressed by his side's gradual rejuvenation over the last three weeks as they have moved level on points with 18th-placed Goztepe and could rise out of the drop zone and as high as 15th with a win this weekend.
However, they face the stern test of going up against an opposing side who they have beaten only twice in the most recent 11 meetings between the sides, losing on five different occasions while picking up four draws.
Meanwhile, Caykur Rizespor's abysmal start to the season continued last time out as they fell to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Galatasaray on home turf.
In a riveting and action-packed affair at the Yeni Rize Sehir Stadi, a surprise victory over the 22-time champions was on the cards after Joel Pohjanpalo netted twice to cancel out Mostafa Mohamed's fifth-minute opener and hand the hosts the lead heading into the break.
However, with 15 minutes remaining on the clock, Hamza Hamzaoglu's men once again imploded at the defensive end of the pitch as Mohamed hit his second of the game before Olimpiu Morutan struck in the 11th minute of injury time to hand Galatasaray a comeback win.
Caykur Rizespor, who are currently rooted to the bottom of the Super Lig table, have lost all but one of their eight games this term, with a goalless draw against Fatih Karagumruk on August 21 being the only exception.
This poor run of results is in no small part owing to their struggles at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have shipped the most goals so far with 19.
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Team News
Giresunspor will take to the pitch without 25-year-old midfielder Erol Can Akdag, who came off with an injury against Fenerbahce on September 23.
Souleymane Doukara is a major doubt for the hosts after the Senegalese forward missed the game against Goztepe last time out through an injury he picked up against Kayserispor.
Meanwhile, first-choice goalkeeper Gokhan Akkan was forced off the pitch with an injury against Galatasaray last time out, and should he fail to pass a fitness test, Tarik Cetin will make his first starting appearance of the season.
Newly-signed defender Nathan Monzango, who completed a loan move from Amiens, awaits his Caykur Rizespor debut after the 20-year-old picked up a muscle injury back in August.
He is joined on the club's injury table by Brazilian midfielder Baiano Fabricio, who trudged off the pitch injured in the 14th minute against Altay on September 21.
Fellow Brazilian midfielder Ronaldo Mendes also misses out after sustaining a muscle problem in August's game against Karagumruk.
Giresunspor possible starting lineup:
Kocuk; Yavru, Diarra, Perez, Behich; Traore, Suleymanov, Flavio; Serginho, Doukara, Diabate
Caykur Rizespor possible starting lineup:
Cetin; Gonul, Ay, Holmen, Koc; Dabo, Pehlivan; Potuk, Boyd, Bolasie; Remy
We say: Giresunspor 2-1 Caykur Rizespor
Both sides will be looking to pick up all three points as they find themselves at the wrong end of the table after an underwhelming start to the season.
Giresunspor head into the game in sky-high spirits following their victory over Goztepe last time out and we predict they will build on that performance and claim all three points.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Giresunspor win with a probability of 51.55%. A draw had a probability of 25.5% and a win for Caykur Rizespor had a probability of 22.97%.
The most likely scoreline for a Giresunspor win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.73%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.91%) and 2-1 (9.38%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.05%), while for a Caykur Rizespor win it was 0-1 (7.75%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 9.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Giresunspor would win this match.
