Two teams heavily embroiled in the fight for survival at the bottom end of the Turkish Super Lig table will do battle on Thursday, as Ankaragucu welcome Giresunspor to the Eryaman Stadium.
The visitors kept themselves out of the relegation places with a crucial victory over Sivasspor at the weekend but only lead Istanbulspor on goal difference, while their hosts are one point and one place better off heading into the pivotal contest.
Match preview
Ankaragucu head into Thursday's meeting in a tough position in the fight for Turkish Super Lig survival, as they only lead Giresunspor and Istanbulspor by a single point after a narrow defeat last time out.
After suffering five losses in a six-match span in the top flight between late January and the beginning of April, new manager Tolunay Kafkas quickly oversaw a return to winning ways in impressive fashion, as they booked a Turkish Cup semi-final place with a 3-1 triumph over Trabzonspor, having turned the contest around in the second half thanks to Ali Sowe's brace and a goal from Lamine Diack.
Ankaragucu then built on that with a crucial three-point haul in the league in a 3-2 beating of relegation rivals Istanbulspor, as Sowe again netted a double alongside a Diack goal, before they faced the unenviable test of a trip to take on Fenerbahce on Saturday.
Kafkas's side looked set to see out a surprise victory as Sowe opened the scoring 10 minutes from time, but Enner Valencia levelled the scoring from the penalty spot in the 87th minute before Miguel Crespo snatched all three points for the hosts with a winner deep into injury time.
While they will be somewhat wounded from that late disappointment in Istanbul, Ankaragucu have certainly looked a new side under their new boss, and they will aim to bounce back to winning ways with what would be another crucial result in their fight to avoid the drop this season.
They welcome a Giresunspor side who will look to leapfrog their hosts and move further away from the relegation places after a crucial victory last time out.
With two relegation spots remaining at the bottom of the Super Lig, following the withdrawal of Hatayspor and Gaziantep from the division in February, Giresunspor returned to action from the enforced break on 21 points from 21 league matches and in the midst of a six-match winless run.
That wait for a triumph would be extended to 10 games following a defeat to Kayserispor and consecutive draws with Konyaspor, Fatih Karagumruk and Alanyaspor, before the Cotanaklar's position in the fight for survival worsened even further earlier in April following a 3-1 loss away at third-placed Besiktas, despite them taking a surprise lead through Riad Bajic in that contest.
As a result, Hakan Keles's side went into the weekend with the slimmest of advantages over Istanbulspor in the drop zone, and after their fellow strugglers triumphed in their contest on Saturday, Giresunspor briefly found themselves in the bottom four, only to make a crucial return to winning ways on Sunday as Jorman Campuzano netted the only goal of the game inside the opening 20 minutes at home to Sivasspor.
Now with a degree of renewed confidence after ending their winless run, the Cotanaklar do still only lead Istanbulspor on goal difference and cannot afford to let up in the fight for survival, with a victory on Thursday seen as crucial in order to increase their cushion and climb up a place at the bottom end of the division.
Team News
Ankaragucu will remain without key defender Uros Radakovic due to an injury, meaning Nihad Mujakic, Atakan Cankaya and Kevin Malcuit will again line up in a back three in his absence.
At the other end of the pitch, their line will be led by Ali Sowe, who has scored 10 and assisted three of their 31 league goals so far this season, including the opener in their eventual defeat away at Fenerbahce at the weekend.
He will have support from Emre Kilinc and Ghayas Zahid, while Kilinc's fellow Galatasaray loanee Taylan Antalyali will join Lamine Diack in the engine room.
While Keles may have wanted to deploy an unchanged Giresunspor XI from their win at the weekend, he will be unable to call on winger Borja Sainz, who brought up a suspension with a yellow card in that game, with Brandley Kuwas expected to come in on the left flank in his place.
The attack will be spearheaded by Riad Bajic, who has also netted 10 league goals so far this season, while Gorkem Saglam and Serginho will offer further support.
Elsewhere, Alexis Perez and Ramon Arias are relative mainstays in defence and will again partner up in the middle of the back four.
Ankaragucu possible starting lineup:
Akkan; Mujakic, Cankaya, Malcuit; Kitsiou, Antalyali, Diack, Hankousek; Zahid, Kilinc; Sowe
Giresunspor possible starting lineup:
Kaplan; Bilazer, Perez, Arias, Genc; Campuzano, Mejia; Serginho, Saglam, Kuwas; Bajic
We say: Ankaragucu 1-0 Giresunspor
Despite the final result, Ankaragucu certainly showed positive signs in their eventual defeat to Fenerbahce at the weekend, and with home advantage and confidence under their new boss heading into a crucial contest, we fancy them to come out on top on Thursday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
