Preview: Goztepe SK vs Antalyaspor - prediction, team news, lineups

Seeking to pick up their first home win since January and move within four points of the European qualifying places, Goztepe SK take on Antalyaspor in round 31 of the Turkish Super Lig on Saturday.

Having failed to win any of their last seven encounters, the Akrepler will journey to the Gursel Aksel Stadium looking to get one over the home side and move six points clear of the relegation zone.

Match preview

In what has been a disappointing collapse at the business end of the season, Goztepe dropped two more points in their quest for Europe last Saturday when they were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Kocaelispor at the Yildiz Entegre Kocaeli Stadium.

With Kocaelispor midfielder Show receiving his marching orders in the 77th minute, the visitors failed to make the most of their numerical advantage, with Serdar Dursun converting his 98th-minute penalty to cancel out Janderson’s early opener and force a share of the spoils.

Goztepe have failed to win nine of their most recent 10 matches, losing three and claiming six draws, having picked up seven wins and two draws from the 10 Super Lig games preceding this run.

Despite their recent woes, the Izmir outfit are in the mix for European qualification, as they sit sixth in the Super Lig standings, level on 48 points with fifth-placed Istanbul Basaksehir and seven points off fourth-placed Besiktas in the Conference League qualifying spot.

Home comfort now awaits Stanimir Stoilov’s men, who are unbeaten in seven of their most recent eight league games at the Gursel Aksel Stadium, picking up three wins and four draws since December 21.

Goztepe will fancy themselves to get the job done this weekend against an opposing side who have failed to win their last seven meetings, including three defeats in the three encounters since a goalless draw in August 2024.

Over in the south-west, Antalyaspor dropped two more points at the wrong end of the table last Friday when they fell to a 2-0 home defeat against Konyaspor at the New Antalya Stadium.

With nothing to separate the two teams at half time, Diogo Goncalves broke the deadlock with a well-worked team goal in the 57th minute before Melih Ibrahimoglu made sure of the result with a 96th-minute strike.

Having lost 4-2 at Besiktas a fortnight ago, last weekend’s result marked a second consecutive defeat for Antalyaspor, who have now failed to win eight of their most recent nine matches — a run which has put their 11-year spell in the top flight under threat.

Sami Ugurlu’s men have picked up seven wins and lost seven of their 30 Super Lig games so far to collect 28 points and sit 14th in the standings, just three points above the relegation zone with four games to go.

While Antalyaspor will be looking to bounce back this weekend, results on the road leave little room for optimism, having failed to taste victory in any of their last 10 outings on the road, losing seven and claiming three draws since the second week of December.

Goztepe SK Turkish Super Lig form:

Antalyaspor Turkish Super Lig form:

Team News

Goztepe remain without the Turkish duo of Izzet Malak and 23-year-old defender Erkam Komur, who have been suspended by the Turkish Football Federation over a betting scandal.

The trio of Heliton, Novatus Miroshi and Anthony Dennis will serve a one-game suspension after crossing the yellow-card threshold with their bookings against Kocaelispor last time out, giving Stoilov a fresh selection headache at the defensive end of the pitch.

On the injury front, Turkish defender Ogun Bayrak was forced off injured midway through the first half against Kocaelispor last time out, and the 27-year-old is out of contention for Goztepe, giving room for Arda Kurtulan to return to the XI.

Like the home side, Antalyaspor will also have to cope without the services of Veysel Seri and Swiss midfielder Samuel Ballet, who are both suspended due to accumulated yellow cards.

Veteran midfielder Soner Dikmen was forced off injured midway through the game against Konyaspor last time out and the 32-year-old is a major doubt for this weekend’s visitors.

Should he fail to shake off the injury, Gambian international Jesper Ceesay should get the nod, with Bunyamin Balci, Bahadir Ozturk, Lautaro Giannetti and Kenneth Paal forming the back four once again.

Goztepe SK possible starting lineup:

Lis; Godoi, Altikardes, Bokele, Kurtulan; Krastev, Mohammed, Cherni; Bekiroglu, Janderson, Santos

Antalyaspor possible starting lineup:

Julian; Paal, Giannetti, Ozturk, Balci; Ceesay; Sinik, Saric, Safuri, Omur; Van de Streek

We say: Goztepe SK 2-1 Antalyaspor

Both Goztepe and Antalyaspor could do well with a win this weekend, with the hosts eyeing European qualification while Ugurlu’s men are looking to pull clear of the danger zone. While Stoilov’s side have struggled for results in recent weeks, they are on a dominant streak against Antalyaspor, and with their home fans cheering them on, we are backing them to return to winning ways here.

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