Kayserispor will be aiming to push away from the Turkish Super Lig relegation zone when they host Fatih Karagumruk, who are challenging for a European spot.
The Anatolian side currently sit 15th in the table, two points above the bottom four, while the visitors are sixth and two points behind the top four.
Match preview
It seems like another year of struggle is in store for Kayserispor, after they were spared relegation by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and then only survived the drop by one point last season.
Hikmet Karaman began his third spell as manager when he replaced Yalcin Kosukavak in mid-August after just one game of the campaign and has led them to three wins from nine matches.
A 2-0 loss to Konyaspor last weekend was their third successive league defeat and they made hard work of an extra-time victory over fourth-tier Artvin Hopaspor in the Turkish Cup in midweek.
Kayserispor have conceded the second-most goals in the Turkish Super Lig this season (17), but only three of those have been let in at home, while their only defeat at the Kadir Has Stadium so far has come against league leaders Trabzonspor.
After finishing eighth in their first season back in the top flight in 2020-21, Fatih Karagumruk look set to progress even further this year.
Led by promising 32-year-old Italian coach Francesco Farioli, they are attracting several plaudits with their possession-based philosophy.
Following a 1-1 draw against Hatayspor last week, Karagumruk have now lost just one of their last seven matches, with an Istanbul derby to come against Galatasaray next week.
Farioli's side are targeting back-to-back away wins for the first time this season, but their only two defeats so far in 2021-22 have come on the road.
Goals from Jimmy Durmaz, Lucas Castro and Artur Sobiech secured an emphatic 3-0 win for Fatih Karagumruk when these two teams last met in March.
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Team News
Kayserispor will be able to welcome back midfielder Ibrahim Akdag, who was suspended for the trip to Konyaspor last weekend.
Bernard Mensah suffered an ACL injury in training this week which is likely to rule him out for the rest of the season.
Mame Thiam scored three goals in his first four games for the club after signing in the summer, but has now gone four matches without finding the net.
Vegar Eggen Hedenstad is suspended for Fatih Karagumruk following his red card against Hatayspor.
Kerim Frei was ruled out of last weekend's game through injury so is a doubt for Sunday, while Medhi Benatia remains sidelined.
Goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano has kept the joint-most clean sheets in the Turkish Super Lig this season (four), but has conceded in three of his last four matches.
Kayserispor possible starting lineup:
Lung; Bulut, Hosseini, Kolovetsios, Subasi; Attamah, Akdag; Bassan, Sazdagi, Thiam; Gavranovic
Fatih Karagumruk possible starting lineup:
Viviano; Balkovec, Bekaroglu, Zukanovic, Erkin; Biglia; Borini, Durmaz, Bertolacci, Karamoh; Pesic
We say: Kayserispor 0-1 Fatih Karagumruk
We think Kayserispor's losing streak in the league will continue, but it should still be a tight game as they have proved to be tougher to beat on home turf. Fatih Karagumruk are an exciting prospect this season though and could go as high as second with victory.
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 Kayserispor win with a probability of 44.22%. A win for Fatih Karagumruk had a probability of 29.19% and a draw had a probability of 26.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Kayserispor win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.55%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.89%) and 2-0 (8.14%). The likeliest Fatih Karagumruk win was 0-1 (8.96%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.61%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with an 8.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Kayserispor would win this match.
