Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Turkish Super Lig clash between Goztepe SK and Bodrumspor, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Still in search of their first victory in the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig campaign, Goztepe SK will host Bodrumspor at Gursel Aksel Stadium on Saturday.
This will be the first-ever meeting between both sides in the top-flight, with all five previous meetings between them coming in the Turkish second division.
Match preview
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Newly promoted Goztepe have had both a winless and unbeaten start to life in the top flight after drawing all three opening matches.
The first was a goalless draw at Antalyaspor on the opening weekend, which was followed by a hard-fought comeback 2-2 draw against Super Lig powerhouse Fenerbahce.
Stanimir Stoilov‘s side also settled for a 1-1 draw away at Alanyaspor in their most recent match, as Heliton‘s goal at the brink of half time was cancelled out by Alanya’s Yusuf Ozdemir three minutes into the second half.
Goz will head into their fourth match of the Super Lig season in ninth place with three points, while hoping to finally get over the line as they take on a fellow newly promoted side.
However, the hosts have never recorded a victory in all five encounters against Saturday’s opposition, only managing two draws while losing the other three.
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Meanwhile, Bodrum will hope to continue their good run in this fixture with hope of securing back-to-back Super Lig victories for the first time in their history.
The visitors recorded their first-ever top-flight win last time out, defeating Konyaspor 3-1 at Bodrum Ilce Stadi last Saturday.
The club from Mugla lost 1-0 to Gaziantep in their first-ever Super Lig match before getting thrashed 4-1 by another newly-promoted side, Eyupspor, on matchday two.
Following these results, Ismet Tasdemir‘s side have three points from a possible nine and are 13th in the table – a first-ever away victory in the top flight on matchday four could help them break into the top half.
Prior to the away defeat against Eyupspor, Bodrum were on a seven-match unbeaten streak dating back to their time in the Turkish second division – a run that might be difficult to replicate in the Super Lig given the quality of opposition.
Goztepe SK Turkish Super Lig form:
Goztepe SK form (all competitions):
Bodrumspor Turkish Super Lig form:
Team News
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Goztepe will enter this match with a clean bill of health, allowing their manager to select from a full squad.
The hosts have had three different scorers this season, but forward Kubilay Kanatsizkus has yet to open his account – despite this, he is expected to start upfront alongside Romulo Cardoso once again.
Bodrum will be without Tunahan Akpinar, who is out with a shin injury and is not anticipated to return to action until next month.
Mustafa Erdilman, who suffered a cruciate ligament tear during the preseason, is also out for an extended period and is not expected to return to action next year.
Goztepe SK possible starting lineup:
Ozcimen; Heliton, Gunter, Altikardes; Sangare, Ildiz, Matsuki, Kayan, Silva; Kanatsizkus, Romulo
Bodrumspor possible starting lineup:
Sousa; Ergun, Herelle, Aytemur, Sen; Mohammed; Dimitrov, Ribeiro, Yalcin, Bayrakdar; Puscas
We say: Goztepe SK 1-2 Bodrumspor
Goztepe have demonstrated resilience in all their matches thus far, but they appear to lack the finishing touch to secure victories, which could hinder them once again.
Bodrum are approaching this contest with confidence following their first win of the season in their last match, and their positive record in this fixture suggests that they have an advantage, which is why we believe they will narrowly prevail.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.