Preview: Fatih Karagumruk vs Samsunspor - prediction, team news, lineups

Turkish Super Lig bottom side Fatih Karagumruk welcome faltering Samsunspor to Ataturk Olimpiyat Stadium on Sunday, with both teams aiming to bounce back immediately from defeats in their most recent league outings.

With 22 matches played, the Black Red sit seven points adrift of safety; however, there have been encouraging signs since the appointment of Aleksandar Stanojevic, and they will hope those improvements translate into valuable points as the survival battle intensifies.

Match preview

Karagumruk finally enjoyed a breakthrough under Stanojevic, who took charge on New Year’s Day, securing a 1-0 victory over Antalyaspor to end an eight-match winless run in the Super Lig (2D, 6L).

That result appeared to signal a turning point, but they were unable to build on it, suffering a 3-2 defeat at Kasimpasa on Monday.

Having fallen three goals behind, Karagumruk mounted a spirited late response through Filip Mladenovic and a stoppage-time strike from Traore Ahmed, yet the comeback proved insufficient.

The loss marked their 16th defeat in 22 league fixtures, underlining the scale of the task ahead – nevertheless, Stanojevic has insisted his side “still have a chance” and are approaching matters game by game, though consistency must now follow belief.

They next face a Samsunspor side who edged them 3-2 in the reverse fixture, and interestingly, this contest has never ended in a draw, with Karagumruk winning three and losing four of the previous seven meetings across all competitions.

The hosts will also take encouragement from winning the last two meetings at this ground, as well as the fact they have scored in every match since the turn of the year, suggesting clear attacking improvement, particularly after drawing blanks in nine of their opening 17 league fixtures during the first half of the campaign.

Samsunspor, meanwhile, arrive amid change of their own, as a dip in form led to the dismissal of Thomas Reis, with Thorsten Fink appointed as his successor.

Fink began his tenure positively, overseeing a 1-0 away victory against Shkendija in the first leg of their Conference League knockout play-off on Thursday.

Domestic matters, however, require urgent attention, as back-to-back league defeats — 3-0 against Trabzonspor and 3-1 versus Antalyaspor — have seen the Red Lightning slip to eighth place after what had previously been a promising campaign.

Restoring defensive stability and attacking sharpness will be central to their hopes of arresting the slide, as the visitors have scored just seven goals and conceded 17 across their last 10 league matches, picking up just seven of 30 points in that period.

Fatih Karagumruk Turkish Super Lig form:

Fatih Karagumruk form (all competitions):

Samsunspor Turkish Super Lig form:

Samsunspor form (all competitions):

Team News

Karagumruk have no confirmed absentees, although Joao Camacho, Daniel Johnson and Marius Doh are minor fitness concerns.

Despite their defensive struggles — they have conceded the second-most goals in the division — goalkeeper Ivo Grbic ranks second in the league for saves per match (3.8), and his contribution could prove crucial once again.

For Samsunspor, Bedirhan Cetin and Tanguy Coulibaly remain sidelined with knee injuries, while Afonso Sousa is unavailable due to an ankle problem and Emre Kilinc is ruled out with a calf strain.

Much of the creative responsibility is likely to rest on Carlo Holse, who averages the most shots on target per match for the visitors, and Yalcin Kayan, the team’s leading creator of big chances.

Fatih Karagumruk possible starting lineup:

Grbic; Esgaio, Biraschi, Cinar, Kurukalip; Kranevitter, Ozcan; Babicka, Larsson, Kalayci; Serginho

Samsunspor possible starting lineup:

Kocuk; Yavru, Sakta, Van Drongelen, Tomasson; Makouta, Ntcham; Mendes, Holse, Assoumou; Ndiaye

We say: Fatih Karagumruk 1-2 Samsunspor

Karagumruk have shown attacking improvement under Stanojevic, but defensive frailties remain a concern, and with Samsunspor also struggling domestically despite a positive European result, we expect an open contest, with the visitors’ quality tipping it in their favour.

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