Adana Demirspor and Istanbul Basaksehir draw the curtains on their 2023-24 Turkish Super Lig campaign when they lock horns at the New Adana Stadium on Sunday.
While the home side will settle for a somewhat disappointing bottom-half finish, the Grey Owls will head into the weekend looking to pick up a third consecutive away win and secure European football.
Match preview
Adana Demirspor's poor late-season form continued last Friday as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Antalyaspor when the sides squared off at the New Antalya Stadium.
After falling behind courtesy of a first-half own goal from Steven Mendoza, Abat Aimbetov netted in the 65th minute to draw the visitors level, but Mert Yilmaz netted the all-important goal nine minutes later to hand the Scorpions all three points.
Prior to that, Hikmet Karaman's men snapped their four-match winless run on May 4, when they edged out Istanbulspor 1-0 in Istanbul, one week before crashing back down to earth in a crushing 6-1 loss at the hands of Gaziantep.
With last week's loss against Antalyaspor, Adana Demirspor have now gone three consecutive home games without a win, picking up one point from a possible nine, and have won just two of their 10 home games since the turn of the year.
The Blue Lightnings have picked up 44 points from 37 Super Lig matches to sit 11th in the league table, four points behind 10th-placed Antalyaspor heading into the final matchday.
On the other hand, Istanbul Basaksehir's bid for a Europa League spot came to an end last weekend when they suffered a 2-1 defeat against Trabzonspor at the Fatih Terim Stadium.
Nigerian striker Paul Onuachu grabbed the headlines as he netted the only goal of the game right on the stroke of half time to hand the Black Sea Storm a vital victory and guarantee their third-placed finish.
Cagdas Atan's men had won each of their previous five league outings, scoring 12 goals and keeping two clean sheets, and were unbeaten in eight consecutive matches in all competitions, claiming seven wins and one draw since March's 2-1 loss at Ankaragucu.
Having failed to finish in the European qualifying places last season, Adana Demirspor have picked up 17 wins and seven draws in what has been a solid campaign to sit fourth in the league table, two points above fifth-placed Besiktas just outside the Europa Conference League qualification spot.
The Grey Owls will be backing themselves to grab the desired results this weekend and avoid a final-day heartbreak as they take on a Demirspor side who have failed to win eight of their last nine encounters, losing six and claiming two draws since November 2013.
Team News
Adana Demirspor remain without 26-year-old goalkeeper Vedat Karakus, who has missed the last six matches since coming off with a thigh injury against Fenerbahce on April 3.
Mario Balotelli is set to serve the second of his three-match suspension after placing up a red card against Gaziantep on May 12 and the veteran striker will also sit out the season finale.
Aimbetov came off the bench to open his account for the Blue Lightnings against Antalyaspor last time out and the 28-year-old striker should be rewarded with his third start since joining the club in February.
Meanwhile, Istanbul Basaksehir defender Efe Arda Koyuncu is currently recuperating from an ACL injury and the 18-year-old is out of contention for Sunday's game.
He is joined on the club's injury table by Polish midfielder Patryk Szysz, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after picking up a severe knee injury in May 2023.
Adana Demirspor possible starting lineup:
Makhammadaliev; Cokcalis, Burak, Gravillon, Atal; Michut, Maestro: Mendoza, Aydogan, Tokoz; Alioui
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Sengezer; Lima, Ergun, Opoku, Sahiner; Ozkan, Duarte; Piatek, Turuc, Kemen; Davidson
We say: Adana Demirspor 1-2 Istanbul Basaksehir
Fresh off the back of a disappointing result against Trabzonspor, Istanbul Basaksehir will be looking to close out the season on a high and secure a place in the Europa Conference League. While we expect the hosts to put up a fight, we fancy the visitors to come away with all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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