Preview: Hatayspor vs. Istanbul Basaksehir - prediction, team news, lineups

Hatayspor need to beat Istanbul Basaksehir on Monday in order to move outside of the relegation places.

The visitors, meanwhile, are three points behind Turkish Super Lig leaders Fenerbahce with both teams kicking-off at the same time.

Match preview

Hatayspor, who are only competing in the Turkish Super Lig for the third season in their history after gaining promotion in 2020, appear to be in slight danger of returning to the second tier after a difficult start to the season.

However, Volkan Demirel has won three of his five league games in charge since succeeding Omer Erdogan in September, but the Star of the South still head into their clash against Basaksehir on Monday two points adrift of safety.

They were battered 4-1 away to Ankaragucu in a disappointing result last weekend, with their opponents climbing above them in the table in the process after scoring three goals after half time to take the game away from Hatayspor.

Demirel will be demanding a much better performance from his side at New Hatay Stadium on Monday, particularly given that they were beaten by their forthcoming opponents 3-0 in both meetings last season.

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Indeed, with Fenerbahce kicking-off at the same time against Sivasspor on Monday, head coach Emre Belozoglu will know the importance of maintaining pressure on the league leaders.

His side's league form has been patchy in recent weeks - reading win, loss, win, loss, win - and they are likely to require greater consistency if they are to challenge Jorge Jesus's side for the title this season.

In Europe, though, they managed to finish ahead of Fiorentina in Group A of the Europa Conference League after a 3-1 win against Scottish Premiership side Hearts on Thursday, which will mean they are seeded in the knockout rounds of the competition.

In the meantime, though, they will be hoping for a favour from Sivasspor in Istanbul on Monday while they simultaneously attempt to break their recent inconsistency by recording successive league wins in Antakya.

Team News

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Hatayspor are likely to be without Kevin Soni and Christian Atsu due to tendon and hamstring issues respectively when they face the division's second-placed side on Monday.

Demirel may be pondering changes after his side's disappointing result and performance last time out, with Kevin Varga and Dylan Saint-Louis hoping for recalls to the starting XI to inject some quality from the flanks.

Basaksehir, meanwhile, will travel without Lucas Biglia and Mahmut Tekdemir due to muscle strains, while former Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil is a doubt due to a back problem.

Belozoglu made six changes for the home match against Hearts on Thursday, with the likes of Alexandru Epureanu and Omer Ali Sahiner hoping for recalls to the starting XI against Hatayspor.

Hatayspor possible starting lineup:

Kardesler; Alici, Vranjes, Oksuz, Adekugbe; Boudjemaa, Ergn, Aabid; El Kaabi, Ze Luis, Varga

Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:

Babacan; Caicara, Duarte, Epureanu, Kaldirim; Sahiner, Ndayishimiye, Ozcan; Gurler, Keny, Chouiar

We say: Hatayspor 1-3 Istanbul Basaksehir

We expect Basaksehir to maintain pressure on Fenerbahce at the top of the table by recording a second successive league win on Monday.

Hatayspor have endured a difficult start to the season overall, but they are trending in a positive direction under Demirel and should improve their league position in the near future.

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