Antalyaspor are truly in amongst the fight for survival in the Turkish Super Lig, currently sitting 17th and and one point from safety, but three points against Gaziantep on Saturday will massively help their cause.
Gaziantep travel to Antalya on the back of their first defeat in six games across all competitions, and will want to bounce back straight away to avoid losing more ground on the top four.
Match preview
Nuri Sahin's side faced Caykur Rizespor last time out in midweek, but just half an hour into that encounter, the game was abandoned due to adverse weather conditions.
That means that Antalyaspor's last result came against Fenerbahce on Saturday, when Dogukan Sinik's 81st-minute strike earned the home team a 1-1 draw against the Turkish giants.
Despite having a lot less of the ball than their visitors in that match, Antalyaspor managed to create more chances and they will be looking to be imaginative in the final third again this weekend.
Antalyaspor will find that easier on their own patch, having scored 12 more goals on home soil than they have managed on their travels, and they have not lost a game at the Antalya Stadyumu since October, putting together an eight-game unbeaten run.
Sahin would have been frustrated that their game in midweek was abandoned after already starting the match, but the same issue occurred for Gaziantep on Wednesday, but they did not have to travel to their venue.
Erol Bulut's side had time to concede a penalty against Yeni Malatyaspor in the first 45 minutes that was played, but that match was cancelled with the scoreline tied at 0-0 after Mounir Chouiar hit the crossbar with his effort from 12-yards for the bottom-placed team.
Gaziantep now enter this fixture on the back of a 1-0 defeat last time out against Besiktas, and those three points allowed their hosts to go four points clear and into the division's European spots.
Saturday's visitors need to improve their away form if they are to challenge for a Europa Conference League place, having only won once on their travels, losing eight out of 11 matches in the Super Lig.
Gaziantep will be looking for a repeat of the reverse fixture against Antalyaspor, having beaten this weekend's hosts 2-0 in September, thanks to a penalty strike from Muhammet Demir and a late goal from Hamza Mendyl.
- W
- L
- D
- L
- L
- D
- D
- L
- W
- D
- L
- D
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- L
- D
- W
- W
- D
- W
- L
Team News
Antalyaspor's Ufuk Akyol remains out for the rest of the season due to a cruciate ligament injury, while Sherel Floranus and Harun Alpsoy are also absent through injury, with the latter nearing a return to the pitch.
Sahin named an unchanged team in their abandoned match against Rizespor from the team which earned a draw against Fenerbahce, and the home team are likely to remain with the same 11 this weekend also.
Haji Wright will lead the line, looking to add to his four league goals this campaign, with a defensive five at the other end of the pitch including Guray Vural, Fyodor Kudryashov, Naldo, Veysel Sari and Bunyamin Balci.
Sierra Leone international centre-back Steven Caulker is still unavailable to Gaziantep as he is currently representing his nation in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Saturday's visitors also have more absentees this weekend due to coronavirus with Ahmed El Messaoudi, Halil Ibrahim Pehlivan, Mendyl, Luka Stankovski and Mirza Cihan all forced to isolate.
Gaziantep will also line up with a back five, Oguz Ceylan and Amedej Vetrih expected to operate in the wing-back roles, while the visitors will have two attackers lead their team, including Demir and Alexandru Maxim.
Antalyaspor possible starting lineup:
Boffin; Vural, Kudryashov, Naldo, Sari, Balci; Sinik, Fredy, Poli, Ghacha; Wright
Gaziantep possible starting lineup:
Guvenc; Ceylan, Tosca, Ersoy, Djilobodji, Vetrih; Niyaz, Erdogan, Soyalp; Maxim, Demir
We say: Antalyaspor 0-1 Gaziantep
Gaziantep should be confident about securing their second away win of the campaign, taking advantage of Antalyaspor's inconsistent form recently and using their own decent string of results to boost them on Saturday.
Both teams would have been frustrated at having to abandon their games in midweek, which could have a tiring effect on the players, which is why this encounter could be a low-scoring affair.
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 Antalyaspor win with a probability of 49.9%. A draw had a probability of 26.3% and a win for Gaziantep had a probability of 23.77%.
The most likely scoreline for an Antalyaspor win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.28%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.82%) and 2-1 (9.14%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.37%), while for a Gaziantep win it was 0-1 (8.37%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with an 9% likelihood.
