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

Following a few weeks of contrasting results for the sides, they find themselves separated by just four points and two places in the Turkish Super Lig table.

Match preview

After an eighth-placed finish in 2024-25, few Goz Goz fans would have anticipated their side's impressive start to this campaign.

Stanimir Stoilov's side have been victorious in half of their league matches so far, the most recent of which being away at Gaziantep last weekend.

Their hosts had the chance to move level on points with Goztepe with a win, but the gap was instead extended to six, as Janderson's second-half strike was enough to claim all three points for the away side at Kalyon Stadyumu.

Perhaps Goztepe's biggest strength this season has been their ability to avoid defeat, having lost just three league matches this season, with two of those coming against sides above them in the current standings.

This is largely due to the side's stingy defence, who have only conceded nine times in the league this season, the fewest of any Super Lig side.

Their fine form means they sit fourth in the Super Lig table, which would earn them qualification to the UEFA Conference League qualifying rounds if they finished there at the end of May.

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Samsunspor could only be topped by giants Galatasaray and Fenerbahce last campaign, earning the chance at a UEFA Europa League playoff after finishing third in the table.

Despite falling short to Greek giants Panathinaikos in the qualification match, Thomas Reis's side had made a promising start to the season, winning both of their first two league matches, and they would play in the Conference League for the first time in the club's history.

However, from that moment on Samsunspor have endured a very inconsistent campaign and have struggled to capitalise on patches of good form.

Before the start of December, Reis's side were hard to beat, losing only one of their first 13 fixtures, but in the time since have endured a worrying string of results.

Sunday's visitors are currently seven games without a win in all competitions and have lost their previous four matches, the most recent of which came in Thursday's 2-0 Conference League match defeat against Mainz 05.

After successive defeats in Europe, Samsunspor have now dropped from first to 12th in the league phase table, meaning they will have to now enter the knockout phase play-off round in order to progress to the final 16 teams.

Goztepe SK Turkish Super Lig form:

Goztepe SK form (all competitions):

Samsunspor Turkish Super Lig form:

Samsunspor form (all competitions):

Team News

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After serving a one-match suspension against Gaziantep, Brazilian midfielder Rhaldney Gomes is available for selection by Stoilov, but Goztepe will be without Janderson who will serve a singular match ban after accumulating four yellow cards this campaign.

Benin's Junior Olaitan and Tanzania's Novatus Miroshi have made their way to the Africa Cup of Nations and will therefore miss out, while Ugur Yildiz continues to be suspended for the home side due to an ongoing betting investigation.

As for Samsunspor, they are also without Celil Yuksel due to a betting investigation and lose Senegalese forward Cherif Ndiaye to international duty. 

Reis remains without Afonso Sousa (ankle) and Bedirhan Cetin (knee), who are both sidelined with long-term injuries, while it remains to be seen whether Olivier Ntcham will play any part of Sunday's match after being forced off in the first half of Thursday's match.

Goztepe SK possible starting lineup:

Lis; Altikardes, Heliton, Bokele; Kurtulan, Dennis, Bekiroglu, Cherni, Gomes; Santos, Sabra

Samsunspor possible starting lineup:

Kocuk; Yavru, Satka, Van Drongelen, Tomasson; Makoumbou, Kilinc, Holse, Cift, Musaba; Marius.#

We say: Goztepe SK 2-0 Samsunspor

Observing the recent form of both teams will suggest that only one of these sides are capable of picking up maximum points from this fixture. 

While the home side are losing a number of players to both suspension and international duty, their defensive record combined with Samsunspor's worrying streak makes them resounding favourites for Sunday's fixture.

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