Round 18 of the Turkish Super Lig gets underway at the Antalya Stadium where Antalyaspor play host to Kasimpasa on Tuesday.
The visitors will head into the game seeking to get one over the hosts having failed to pick up a win in any of the most recent three meetings between the sides since 2019.
Match preview
Antalyaspor were sent crashing down to earth in the Super Lig last Saturday when they suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Konyaspor.
In a one-sided affair at the Konya Buyuksehir Belediyesi Stadium, the visitors put on a solid defensive performance for most of the game before substitute Endri Cekici broke the deadlock in the second minute of injury time.
Prior to that, Alfons Groenendijk's men became the first side to beat Trabzonspor in the league this season courtesy of a hard-earned 2-1 victory when the two sides locked horns on December 11.
Antalyaspor have now lost two of their most recent three outings and with 21 points from 17 games, they currently occupy 14th place in the Super Lig standings, five points above the relegation zone.
While the Scorpions have been solid at home, where they boast the league's ninth-best record, they have struggled to match that form away from home, where they have picked up just five points from eight games.
Meanwhile, the first half of the season has not exactly gone as planned for Kasimpasa, who find themselves rooted to the bottom of the table after 17 rounds of matches.
After securing a 14th-placed finish in the league last term, the Apaciler have managed just 11 points from 17 games this season, seven points adrift of Altay outside the drop zone.
A lack of firepower up top has been a major cause of concern for Hakan Kutlu's side, who have netted the division's second-lowest goals so far with 16.
Their luck at the defensive end of the pitch has not been any better either as they have shipped 27 goals, while they are one of just three sides yet to taste victory away from home this season.
Kasimpasa head into Tuesday's game on a run of six games without a win, picking up two wins and losing four, including a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Sivasspor last time out.
While they will be looking to end this dry spell, next up is an opposing side who are unbeaten in 17 of the last 20 meetings between the sides, claiming 11 wins and six draws in that time.
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Team News
Groenendijk has a few injury concerns to contend with down the spine of the Antalyaspor squad heading into Tuesday's game.
The Turkish midfield duo of Ufuk Akyol and Harun Alpsoy will sit out the game as they continue their spells on the sidelines through knee and muscle injuries respectively.
They are joined on the club's injury table by defender Dogukan Nelik after the 21-year-old picked up a knee problem back in July, while forward Enzo Crivelli is set to miss his 10th consecutive game through a muscle injury.
Kasimpasa, on the other hand, will have to make do with the absence of veteran midfielder Nabil Dirar, after the 35-year-old picked up an injury in November's game against Fatih Karagumruk.
Fellow midfielder Loret Sadiku is also out of contention for the visitors after the Swedish international sustained a knee problem against Gaziantep FK on November 5.
Antalyaspor possible starting lineup:
Boffin; Sari, Kudryashov, Naldo; Balci, Fredy, Poli, Vural; Ghacha, Sinik, Mukairu
Kasimpasa possible starting lineup:
Tekin; Hadergjonaj, Brecka, Donk, Elmaci; Erdogan, Travnik, Serbest, Hajradinovic; Bozok, Eysseric
We say: Antalyaspor 2-0 Kasimpasa
Antalyaspor will be beating themselves up following last week's late defeat as they put on a fine defensive performance for most of the game. They will now try to restore some level of confidence against a floundering Kasimpasa side who are without a win away from home this term. Looking at past results between the two sides, we are tipping Antalyaspor to extend their dominance here and come away with all three points.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
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 57.57%. A draw had a probability of 23.5% and a win for Kasimpasa had a probability of 18.89%.
The most likely scoreline for an Antalyaspor win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.66%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.99%) and 2-1 (9.7%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.17%), while for a Kasimpasa win it was 0-1 (6.44%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with an 11.2% likelihood.
