Konyaspor will be targeting a third successive win when they travel to Goztepe SK in the Turkish Super Lig on Sunday.
These two sides finished just a point apart last season but have had contrasting campaigns so far – the Anatolians are currently fifth in the table, while Goz Goz are struggling in 18th.
Match preview
Early goals from Soner Dikmen and Abdulkerim Bardakci helped Konyaspor to a surprise 2-1 win over Fenerbahce last weekend, a result that meant they leapfrogged the Istanbul-based side in the table.
It was their second win in a row after a run of five games without a victory and now they are aiming to record their first win away from home since the opening weekend of the campaign at Sivasspor.
Manager Ilhan Palut spent just over a year in charge of Goztepe before resigning in January this year, moving to Anatolia a month later.
He would lead Konyaspor to a 1-0 win against Goztepe in May – their first victory over them in their last eight meetings.
Palut is now hopeful of achieving Konyaspor's first top-half finish in three years and is building from the back – only Hatayspor (eight) have conceded fewer goals than Konyaspor (10) in the Super Lig this season.
Palut's successor at Goztepe, Unal Karaman, was himself replaced by Serbian Nestor El Maestro in September, but the change has not worked so far.
The Izmir-based outfit have lost four of their last seven matches, winning just one, and sit three points adrift of safety.
They came agonisingly close to a vital win on the road last weekend, but conceded an 89th-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Alanyaspor.
Goztepe have picked up the fewest home points in the league this season, winning one and losing four of their matches at the Gursel Aksel Stadium, while just two of their 11 goals have come at home.
- L
- L
- L
- W
- L
- D
- D
- D
- D
- L
- W
- W
Team News
Obinna Nwobodo's yellow card in Goztepe's draw with Alanyaspor was his fourth of the season, meaning he is suspended.
David Tijanic and Lourency both came off the bench to score last weekend, so will be pushing for spots in the starting XI.
Centre-back Atinc Nukan was absent through injury in Alanya and is expected to miss out once again.
Konyaspor boss Ilhan Palut could be forced into a change from last week's winning lineup as Sokol Cikalleshi is a doubt due to injury.
With fellow striker Kouka also on the sidelines, Palut may be forced into a formation reshuffle and is likely to add another midfielder.
That replacement could come in the shape of Amir Hadziahmetovic, who missed the win over Fenerbahce through injury, but he is in contention to return.
Goztepe SK possible starting lineup:
Egribayat; Arslanagic, Cankaya, Demirtas; Paluli, Kayan, Aydogdu, Burekovic; Lourency, Jahovic, Ndiaye
Konyaspor possible starting lineup:
Sehic; Skubic, Calik, Bardakci, Guilherme; Hadziahmetovic; Gurler, Dikmen, Ulgun, Bytyqi; Cekici
We say: Goztepe SK 0-1 Konyaspor
Konyaspor's injury issues in attack leave them weaker in the final third of the pitch, but their tight defence should help them secure a narrow victory against a Goztepe side who are low on confidence and have been shy in front of goal.
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 Goztepe SK win with a probability of 43.12%. A win for Konyaspor had a probability of 30.08% and a draw had a probability of 26.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Goztepe SK win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.5%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.76%) and 2-0 (7.93%). The likeliest Konyaspor win was 0-1 (9.22%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.71%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 5.1% likelihood.
