Caykur Rizespor can climb out of the relegation zone with victory on Wednesday, when they travel to eighth-placed Sivasspor, who are aiming for their fifth consecutive win.
The hosts are currently in their best run of form all season in the Turkish Super Lig, while Rizespor have also lifted their league position with back-to-back wins for the first time this campaign.
Match preview
© Reuters
Riza Calimbay's side extended their good string of results on Saturday, when they faced bottom side Kasimpasa, and a second-half turnaround thanks to goals from Faycal Fajr and a brace from Mustapha Yatabare sealed a 3-1 win in Istanbul.
Sivasspor would have been slightly disappointed to concede in that match, which came from a Samba Camara own goal, as they had kept three clean sheets on the bounce prior to last weekend, and their strong defensive stats are amongst some of the best in the Super Lig.
The hosts should be confident heading into Wednesday's outing, having only lost once at the Yeni Sivas 4 Eylul Stadyumu, and that defeat came way back in August on the opening day of this season.
Calimbay's side have drawn the most games out of any other team in the division, and if they can turn some of those draws into three points, Sivasspor are likely to be aiming for a top four spot, but victory against a relegation-threatened side is a must for that to happen.
Rizespor have given themselves a lifeline in the fight for survival by recording their first set of back-to-back wins, with a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Yeni Malatyaspor.
Hamza Hamzaoglu's side dominated that game on Sunday, but it was just substitute Deniz Hummet's 79th-minute strike that ended up separating the two teams.
A major issue for Caykur Rizespor is their away form, having lost all eight matches on their travels so far, which does not bode well for them in this game, but their confidence would have been boosted by their last two results and that may help them collect their first points on the road.
Out of the five games that they have won this campaign, Rizespor have kept a clean sheet in three of those fixtures, suggesting that they will need to stop Sivasspor from scoring to earn all three points on Wednesday as they will find it difficult if the hosts take the lead.
Not only has it been important for Hamzaoglu's side to keep clean sheets on home soil, they will need to limit the amount of goal they are giving away on their travels, having conceded 23 in eight games but only scored four themselves in that time.
Both teams will be hoping for a better game than the last time they met in February, when Rizespor and Sivasspor played out a goalless draw, with very few shots recorded on goal.
- D
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
Team News
Sivasspor centre-back Aaron Appindangoye and winger Sefa Yilmaz are both expected to make their return from injuries this month, but neither is likely to be fit enough for this encounter on Wednesday.
Fredrik Ulvestad and Jorge Felix are certain to be absent from the home side as they continue to recover from muscle injuries sustained last month, while Pedro Henrique is forced to miss out through suspension.
Ugur Ciftci came back into the team last time out after serving his one-game suspension for a sending off against Alanyaspor, and the hosts are expected to name a similar 11, with Max Gradel, Yatabare and Olarenwaju Kayode making up the attacking trio.
Ronaldo Mendes is the only injury doubt for Caykur Rizespor, who made two changes last time out with goalkeeper Tarik Cetin and defender Emir Han Topcu coming into the side.
Joel Pohjanpalo will continue to lead the line for the visitors, and his brace against Goztepe earlier this month moved the Finland striker onto four goals for the campaign.
Midfielder Damjan Djokovic is another main source of goals for Rizespor, having also netted four times this season, and he will lineup alongside Gokhan Gonul in the middle of the pitch.
Sivasspor possible starting lineup:
Vural; Ciftci, Camara, Goutas, Yesilyurt; Fajr, Cofie, Kesgin; Gradel, Yatabare, Kayode
Caykur Rizespor possible starting lineup:
Cetin; Sertel, Ay, Holmen, Baiano; Djokovic, Gonul; Umar, Boyd, Boldrin; Pohjanpalo
We say: Sivasspor 2-0 Caykur Rizespor
Both sides are in good form which is likely to make for a close match-up, but Sivasspor are expected to have the edge after four wins in a row and being at home, given Rizespor's poor away record.
The visitors may find it difficult to get on the scoresheet as they have done so all season on their travels, which should allow Sivasspor to relax a little and be free-flowing in front of Rizespor's 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 Sivasspor win with a probability of 70.74%. A draw had a probability of 18.6% and a win for Caykur Rizespor had a probability of 10.66%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sivasspor win was 2-0 with a probability of 13.71%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (12.97%) and 3-0 (9.67%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.78%), while for a Caykur Rizespor win it was 0-1 (4.15%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with an 8.8% likelihood.
