Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Turkish Super Lig clash between Hatayspor and Trabzonspor, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Hatayspor will be aiming to secure their first win in the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig season when they host Trabzonspor at Mersin Stadyumu on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the visitors, who claimed their first league win of this campaign in their previous match, will be seeking to make it two wins in a row.
Match preview
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Hatayspor’s disappointing start to the season continued, as they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Bodrumspor at Mersin Stadyumu last Friday, remaining winless after six Super Lig matches this campaign.
The Guneyin Yildizi have just two points from two draws and four defeats, placing them second from bottom in the Super Lig table.
Aside from their lack of victories, another concerning trend for Ozhan Pulat‘s team is their failure to find the net in three consecutive matches, while conceding four during that period.
Hatayspor would fancy their chances against their next opponent, Tranzonspor, against whom they have an ongoing three-match home winning streak, with one draw and two victories.
However, a draw and two straight defeats in their last three home matches, conceding four times while scoring just once, would raise significant doubts about their ability to extend this run and end their winless start to the campaign.
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Trabzonspor finally secured their first win of the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig campaign at the seventh attempt, thanks to a 3-2 home victory over Konyaspor last Sunday.
After finishing third last season, there were high expectations for the Black Sea Storm to challenge for the top two this season, but drawing their opening five matches has left them already trailing league leaders Galatasaray by 11 points, with just eight points on the board.
Under the new management of Senol Gunes, Trabzonspor were aiming to make another push for the title that they most recently won in 2021-22, but they will now have to embark on a lengthy winning streak to put themselves back in contention.
Already trailing the top four by seven points, the Black Sea Storm must find a way to start picking up wins on the road, beginning with Friday’s away match, as the visitors have not won any of their last five away matches across all competitions, drawing all three in the Super Lig.
Hatayspor Turkish Super Lig form:
Trabzonspor Turkish Super Lig form:
Trabzonspor form (all competitions):
Team News
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Hatayspor have almost all their players fit and available for Saturday’s clash, except for Abdulkadir Parmak, who is sidelined with an ankle injury until late October.
Carlos Strandberg and Joelson Fernandes, who have each scored two goals for the visitors this season, are the players the hosts will look to as they aim to end their goal drought and winless run.
Trabzonspor have had to contend with several injuries at the early stages of this campaign, with up to five players currently injured, including defenders Stefan Savic and Huseyin Turkmen.
In the midfield department, they will be missing Arseniy Batagov and Enis Destan, who are also set to remain on the sidelines until mid-October with injuries.
Twenty-eight-year-old Turkish striker, Umut Bozok, is also out until mid-October with a muscle injury.
Hatayspor possible starting lineup:
Kardesler; Sertel, Calvo, Kilama, Corekci; Massanga; Rivas, Saglam, Diack, Fernandes; Aboubakar
Trabzonspor possible starting lineup:
Cakir; Malheiro, Mendy, Denswil, Elmali; Yokuslu, Tufan; Visca, Bardhi, Nwakaeme; Banza
We say: Hatayspor 1-2 Trabzonspor
Trabzonspor’s first win of the season is expected to serve as a catalyst for their performance, and we believe they possess sufficient quality to overcome a team low in confidence like Hatayspor and secure a victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.