Hatayspor could move out of the Turkish Super Lig relegation zone if they avoid a defeat against Antalyaspor at the Antalya Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The home side are 16th in the standings, occupying the last place in the relegation zone, while the visitors are one place higher, in 15th.

Match preview

Hatayspor secured an important victory away against bottom-of-the-table Istanbulspor in their last game before the World Cup break, but they have been unable to build on that result in the following games.

Star of the South have now not won in their last three matches, and they were resounding losers away at Fenerbahce in that timeframe, being battered 4-0, their joint-heaviest defeat of the season so far.

Volkan Demirel can, at least, take some solace in the fact that his side have drawn two games in that run, as earlier in the season they were too easily beaten on multiple occasions, losing five of their opening six matches.

Of those six games, Hatayspor only scored in two of them, and they still have the joint-lowest goal tally in the league, but they are now showing some more positive signs in front of goal, even if they are not necessarily getting the results to show for it.

At the start of November, Star of the South picked up a decent point at home to Istanbul Basaksehir, drawing 3-3, while last time out they drew 2-2 at Umraniyespor, although they are likely to be a little disappointed, as they were in front twice.

Antalyaspor had a difficult start to the season, losing five of their opening seven games, but they really looked to be turning it around prior to the World Cup break, winning three games on the spin.

However, Akrepler have returned to their previous ways since the restart, losing all three of their league games, although they have admittedly faced tough opponents in both Fenerbahce and Basaksehir.

Matches involving Nuri Sahin's side have tended to be exciting affairs if nothing else, defeating reigning champions Trabzonspor 5-2 back in August before immediately following it up with a 5-2 loss away at Gaziantep.

Away form has been the major concern for the club from Antalya so far, collecting just six points from their first six games on the road, the joint-lowest amount of any side in the division.

Last time out, Antalyaspor showed some positive signs at home to Fenerbahce, taking the lead through Haji Wright, but they ultimately came unstuck, losing 2-1 after a second-half brace from Michy Batshuayi.

Team News

Hatayspor defender Burak Oksuz sustained an injury in the 4-0 defeat at Fenerbahce, so Ognjen Vranjes and Simon Falette are the expected centre-back pairing on Saturday.

Despite his side's difficult start, Ayoub El Kaabi is enjoying a fantastic season on a personal level, with six goals and three assists to his name in the Turkish Super Lig, and he will likely be the first name on the team sheet at right-wing.

Bertug Yildirim has scored two goals in his last four games, and should get the nod over Ze Luis as the lone striker.

The visitors have a few more injury concerns to deal with, one of them being Shoya Nakajima, who has been out since an old injury issue flared up against Maccabi Tel Aviv in a November friendly.

Alassane Ndao is another long-term absentee, and he is not expected back anytime soon, so Bunyamin Balci is set to start on the right of midfield, while Houssam Ghacha is a doubt after missing the last game due to a muscle injury.

Hatayspor possible starting lineup:
Kardesler; Corekci, Vranjes, Falette, Kanak; Aabid, Ergun, El Kaabi, Ribeiro, Lobjanidze; Yildirim

Antalyaspor possible starting lineup:
Uysal; Sari, Toprak, Sertel; Balci, Fernando, Aykol, Vural, Fredy; Wright, Bayrakdar

We say: Hatayspor 2-2 Antalyaspor

With both teams struggling for form in the Turkish Super Lig, it would not be a surprise to see them play out a score draw on Saturday afternoon.

There have only been four clean sheets in matches involving Hatayspor and Antalyaspor, so a high-scoring game is possible, but neither side is likely to run away with it.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Dominic Lund

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