Preview: Eyupspor vs Genclerbirligi - prediction, team news, lineups

One victory in eight league outings leaves Eyupspor scrambling to make their way out of the relegation zone as they welcome Genclerbirligi to the Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadium on Saturday in one of the Super Lig matches this weekend.

Staring relegation in the face, the Istanbul-based side are in urgent need of rejuvenation if they are to avoid returning to the second division after only two seasons in the top tier, while the visitors will look to avoid falling down the standings with a positive result.

Match preview

Two seasons after gaining promotion to the Super Lig, Eyupspor are in danger of losing their top-division status, and the pressure is palpable among the fans.

As a result of their unimpressive run since the start of the season, Atila Gerin was brought in to steady the ship in early January, but with two wins from seven games across league and cup fixtures, patience is running thin.

Since their 3-1 victory away at Alanyaspor at the end of January, the hosts have been without a victory (D1, L2) across all competitions, with those losses coming in back-to-back league fixtures against Istanbul Basaksehir (2-1) and Galatasaray (5-1) in their last outing.

Ahead of this fixture, the manager and his charges will be desperate to get another win on the board, with the hope that it will spark a new lease of life for the hosts.

Nevertheless, their attacking record has been abysmal, having scored 18 times, a record which is the second-worst in the division, behind Kayserispor’s 17-goal tally.

Genclerbirligi are basking in mid-table mediocrity, but they will be keen not to leave anything to chance as they are five points above the dreaded relegation places.

A lack of consistency has been their bane this term, and with the league heading towards the final stretch, they will be looking to put more distance between themselves and the bottom three places.

The Wind of Ankara suffered five consecutive losses at the start of the season, but they enjoyed some respite, going unbeaten in four league fixtures between September and October (W2, D2).

Their supporters would have thought that their team had turned the corner with that run of results, but what followed was four wins in 13 league encounters (D3, L6).

Given the form of the hosts, fans would have hoped for a positive result on the road, but a solitary victory in 11 fixtures away from their base does not inspire confidence.

Eyupspor Turkish Super Lig form:

Eyupspor form (all competitions):

Genclerbirligi Turkish Super Lig form:

Genclerbirligi form (all competitions):

Team News

Luccas Claro has been on the sidelines for some time, and the Brazilian is still not fit enough to be considered for a place in the matchday squad.

Bedirhan Ozyurt was sent off in the last outing for his team, and as such, he will sit out Saturday’s encounter.

Ukrainian Taras Stepanenko is doubtful, and he will remain on the sidelines, as he is currently recovering from an undisclosed injury.

Genclerbirligi also have injury troubles of their own, with several players ruled out of this encounter due to injuries.

Peter Etebo is out with a serious muscle problem at the moment, and he is not expected to feature for the away side.

Moussa Kyabou is another player not expected to be named in the matchday squad, as he is still recuperating from a knee injury, as are Abdullah Sahindere and Emirhan Unal.

Eyupspor possible starting lineup:

Yilmaz, Meras, Satli, Onguene, Ulvan; Akbaba, Legowski, Gezek; Torres, Bozok, Pintor

Genclerbirligi possible starting lineup:

Velho; Pereira, Goutas, Zuzek, Thalisson Kelven; Ulgun, Dele-Bashiru; Gurpuz, Tongya, Mimaroglu; Koita

We say: Eyupspor 2-1 Genclerbirligi

Eyupspor have struggled to make a mark in the current season, and given that they have to start racking up points in their bid to beat the drop, that may afford the home side some motivation to claim their fifth win of the season against a team with only one win on the road in the current campaign.

Thus, we predict the match will end 2-1 in favour of the hosts.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.