Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Turkish Super Lig clash between Hatayspor and Istanbul Basaksehir, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Hatayspor will be seeking to avoid a fourth defeat on the bounce when they welcome Istanbul Basaksehir to the Mersin Stadyumu on Saturday.
Basaksehir, meanwhile, head to Mersin this weekend aiming to pick up a third victory on the bounce and continue their recent upturn in form.
Match preview
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Basaksehir made it two wins on the spin as they comprehensively defeat Caykur Rizespor 2-0 at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium on Sunday.
Cagdas Atan‘s men took the lead through Dimitrios Pelkas in the 12th minute before Berkay Ozcan sealed the deal from the penalty spot in stoppage time.
As a result, The Grey Owls have moved up to fifth place in the Turkish Super Lig table, just two points shy of Besiktas in the race for European qualification.
On the menu next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who are without a victory in the last seven editions of this fixture, losing five of them.
Off the back of recently ending a two-game losing streak on the road, Saturday’s visitors now go in search of consecutive victories away from home for the first time in over a year.
Hatayspor came away empty-handed from the third game running following a 2-1 defeat against Antalyaspor at the Corendon Airlines Park on Sunday.
Volkan Demirel‘s men went into the interval with a narrow advantage thanks to Fisayo Dele-Bashiru only for Adam Buksa and Zymer Bytyqi to turn the game around with second-half strikes.
With 33 points picked up from as many matches so far, the Stars of the South sit 18th in the league standings, one point away from safety heading into the final five games of the season.
Ahead of a crunch relegation six-pointer against Gaziantep six days later, Saturday’s visitors will be keen to avoid being left too far behind in the battle for survival.
Hatayspor Turkish Super Lig form:
Istanbul Basaksehir Turkish Super Lig form:
Team News
Basaksehir’s Efe Koyuncu is unavailable for this weekend’s clash as he continues his spell on the sidelines with a ruptured Achilles Tendon.
Patryk Szysz also misses out for the hosts with a knee injury which has seen him out of action since the back end of the 2022-23 campaign.
Following his opener against Antalyaspor, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru has now been directly involved in more league goals than any of his teammates, making him one to keep an eye on here.
Mehdi Boudjemaa missed the aforementioned game but the French midfielder is expected to return to the visitors’ matchday squad for this one.
Hatayspor possible starting lineup:
Kardesler; Ghoulam, Maksimovic, Kilama, Corekci; Matondo, Beyaz, Dele-Bashiru; Fernandes, Rivas, Strandberg
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Sengezer; Duarte, Ba, Opoku, Sahiner; Souza, Ozcan; Turuc, Pelkas, Figueiredo; Piatek
We say: Hatayspor 1-1 Istanbul Basaksehir
Given their form heading into this one, Basaksehir are favourites to carry the day here but Hatayspor are by no means pushover in front of their fans. We can see the teams cancelling each other over the course of the 90 minutes to settle for a point apiece in the end.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.