Round 36 of the Turkish Super Lig gets underway on Tuesday when Alanyaspor and Kasimpasa go head to head at the Bahcesehir Okullari Stadyumu.
Both sides are currently separated by just one point and one place in the mid-table and we anticipate a thrilling contest ensuing as they both pursue a top-half finish.
Match preview
Alanyaspor returned to winning ways in style as they thrashed Kayserispor 4-0 when the sides squared off at the Kadir Has Stadium last Saturday.
Despite seeing just 20% of the ball possession and being pegged back for most of the game, Erencan Yardimci netted a first-half brace before Efthymios Koulouris and Jure Balkovec added to the scoreline in the second half.
Prior to that, Alanyaspor were on a run of two back-to-back defeats, losing 4-2 against Adana Demirspor on May 6, 11 days before a humbling 3-0 defeat at the hands of Konyaspor.
With just two games before the 2022-23 campaign draws to a close, Omer Erdogan's side are currently 10th in the Super Lig standings, one point above Tuesday's visitors who have one game in hand.
While Alanyaspor set out to pick up two successive competitive wins for the first time this season, next up is an opposing side who are unbeaten in four of their last five clashes, claiming three wins and one draw since January 2021.
Kasimpasa, on the other hand, picked up a giant step in their bid for a first top-half finish since the 2017-18 campaign as they grabbed a 1-0 victory over Istanbulspor two Saturdays ago.
Following a goalless first half at the Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadium, 17-year-old Yasin Ozcan came up clutch as he struck in the 58th minute to hand the visitors a second straight defeat.
This followed a 2-1 victory over Sivasspor at the Yeni Sivas 4 Eylul Stadium on May 16, when Mortadha Ben Ouanes and Mamadou Fall scored second-half goals to end their four-match winless run.
With their victory over Istanbulspor, Kemal Ozdes's men now sit just four points behind Alanyaspor in the top half of the table heading into their final three games of the season.
Team News
Alanyaspor will take to the pitch without the services of Efkan Bekiroglu and Zinedine Ferhat, who have both missed the last three matches due to muscle problems.
Senegalese defender Joher Khadim Rassoul is also battling a muscle injury, while Yunus Bahadir continues his rehabilitation after suffering an ACL injury in October 2020.
Ahmed Hassan, who is currently the club's leading scorer with 10 league goals, will also play no part in Tuesday's game after picking up a knee injury against Umraniyespor on April 28.
Experienced goalkeeper Gunay Guvenc will serve the second of his three-match ban after picking up a straight red against Sivasspor on May 16, meaning that former Schalke man Erdem Canpolat should start in goal for Kasimpasa for the second game running.
Ali Gholizadeh sustained a knee injury while on international duty for Iran back in March and the 27-year-old midfielder is set to sit out his eighth consecutive game.
Sadie Cidtpinar has been sidelined since January through a muscle injury, while Ozcan is a major doubt after coming off injured in last week's victory over Istanbulspor.
Alanyaspor possible starting lineup:
Runarsson; Ozdemir, Bayir, Feddal, Aksoy; Doumbia, Fer; Candeias, Karaca, Aydin; Yardimci
Kasimpasa possible starting lineup:
Canpolat; Hadergjonaj, Donk, Djilobodji, Ouanes; Malsa, Hajradinovic; Fall, Eysseric, Chouiar; Koita
We say: Alanyaspor 1-1 Kasimpasa
With their push for a top-half finish potentially on the line, we anticipate a thrilling battle between Istanbulspor and Kasimpasa on Tuesday. While Kasimpasa have notched up two straight wins, they have struggled on the road and we predict that the hosts will hold out for a draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
