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

Fresh off the back of handing Fenerbahce their first Super Lig defeat of the season, Fatih Karagumruk travel to the Kadir Has Stadium to take on fellow strugglers Kayserispor in a bottom-of-the-table clash on Thursday.

Having failed to win the last six meetings between the two teams, the Anatolian Star will head into the midweek tie looking to get one over the visitors and pick up three huge points in their battle for survival.

Match preview

Kayserispor continue to drop points at the wrong end of the Super Lig standings, as they suffered a 2-1 defeat against Samsunspor when the two sides squared off at the Samsun Yeni 19 Mayis Stadium last Sunday.

Erling Moe’s men looked on course to leave with a point when Toni Borevkovic netted a second-half own goal to cancel out Antoine Makoumbou’s 31st-minute opener, but Logi Tomasson struck in the second minute of stoppage time to hand Samsunspor a last-gasp victory.

With that result, Kayserispor have failed to taste victory in three straight games, picking up just one point from a possible nine, and are without a win in 11 of their last 12 matches in the league, losing six and claiming five draws since the start of December.

Having secured a 13th-placed finish last season, this poor run of results has put the Anatolian Star’s 10-year stint in the top flight under threat, as they sit bottom but one in the Super Lig standings with 20 points from 26 matches, two points away from safety.

While Kayserispor could move out of the danger zone with a win on Thursday, they are up against an opposing side whom they have failed to get the better of in their last six attempts, losing four and claiming two draws since a 2-1 victory in October 2021.

Indeed, It will be a stern challenge for Thursday’s hosts, as Fatih Karagumruk have flipped the script in recent weeks and will journey to the Kadir Has Stadium fresh off the back of last weekend’s morale-boosting 2-0 victory over title-chasers Fenerbahce.

Despite seeing just 32% of the ball possession, Fatih Karagumruk made the most of their chances at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, with Bartug Elmaz and Serginho netting first-half goals to hand Fenerbahce their first league defeat of the season.

With that result, Aleksandar Stanojevic’s men have picked up two wins and one draw from their most recent three matches across all competitions and are unbeaten in three of their last four Super Lig games, claiming five points in that time, having managed just five points in the 10 matches preceding this run.

While Karagumruk have turned their fortunes around in recent weeks, much work must be if they are to preserve their top-flight status, as the Black Red sit rock-bottom in the Super Lig table with 17 points from 26 games, seven points behind 15th-placed Antalyaspor just outside the dreaded bottom three.

Kayserispor Turkish Super Lig form:

Fatih Karagumruk Turkish Super Lig form:

Fatih Karagumruk form (all competitions):

Team News

Kayserispor remain without the services of 29-year-old midfielder Abdulsamet Burak, who is currently suspended by the Turkish Football Federation over gambling scandal.

On the injury front, 18-year-old Kayra Cihan is yet to feature this year and remains out of contention for the hosts, while Yigit Celtik is currently recuperating from a severe knee problem.

As for Fatih Karagumruk, they suffered two massive injury blows against Fenerbahce last time out, with Elmaz and experienced midfielder Sam Larsson being forced off injured in the second half.

While the duo are major doubts for Thursday’s tie, Muhammed Kadioglu is set to sit out his eighth straight game through injury while Portuguese forward Joao Camacho has been ruled out since coming off injured against Besiktas in November.

Italian defender Davide Biraschi was a major absentee against Fenerbahce due to injury and the 31-year-old is also out of contention for the trip to the Kadir Has Stadium.

Kayserispor possible starting lineup:

Bayazit; Brenet, Guler, Denswil, Civelek; Makarov, Benea, Soyalp, Cardoso; Onugkha, Sariarslan

Fatih Karagumruk possible starting lineup:

Grbic; Esgaio, Lichnovsky, Cinar, Mladenovic; Kranevitter, Babicka; Serginho, Cukur, Kalayci; Ozkan

We say: Kayserispor 1-1 Fatih Karagumruk

Buoyed by their stunning display against Fenerbahce, Fatih Karagumruk will travel to the Kadir Has Stadium in high spirits as they look set to make a strong push for safety down the stretch of the season.

Home advantage gives Kayserispor a slight upper hand, and while we expect Karagumruk to put up a fight, we predict both sides will cancel out each other’s efforts and settle for a share of the spoils.

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