Kayserispor and Alanyaspor are separated by three places in the Super Lig table heading into Saturday's meeting at the Kadir Has Stadium.
Neither side is in top form, with the home side winless in their most recent four games, while the away side have won just one match in eight.
Match preview
Kayserispor have no targets at this stage of their season, apart from ending as high in the table to finish the year positively.
Perhaps that realisation has brought about an indifferent run of results for Cagdas Atan's men, who have picked up two points from an available 12 in recent weeks.
Their seventh-place position is an upshot of their home results — seventh-best in the Super Lig — which pales in comparison with road outcomes, which betters one team in the whole division.
Anatolian Star have not claimed maximum points in this fixture since 2017, a winless head-to-head run that makes the hosts underdogs on Saturday.
There have been eight defeats in 10 matches for Kayserispor in this encounter, but Atan's group could turn the tide due to their decent-to-good form in Central Anatolia.
As for Alanyaspor, poor results have left Omer Erdogan's side in mid-table, evidenced by one victory in eight fixtures.
A 3-0 beatdown against Konyaspor on Tuesday was their 15th of a frustrating campaign, in which they could not replicate last season's fifth-place finish.
They are 10th heading into this weekend's encounter but could draw motivation from their dominance in this fixture since the late 2010s.
The reverse fixture ended 3-1 in favour of Erdogan's team, and a repeat will benefit a side struggling for performances and results in the Super Lig.
Alanyaspor want a win this weekend because defeat could see them slide down the standings, with 15th-placed Istanbulspor only three points adrift.
Team News
Nurettin Korkmaz is out through injury, but Lionel Carole is back in training with the group – although the defender is unlikely to start for Kayserispor on Saturday.
Gokhan Sazdagi's suspension means Ramazan Civelek should deputise at right back, while Bilal Bayazit returns from a ban after getting sent off in late April against Adana Demirspor.
Efthymios Koulouris is expected to replace Koka up top for Alanyaspor after the latter suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Efkan Bekiroglu and Zinedine Ferhat are sidelined, Khadim Rassoul and Ivan Cavaleiro are doubtful, and Oguz Aydin's fitness is unclear before Saturday.
Umut Gunes picked up a booking at Konyaspor, and the midfielder is suspended for the weekend's clash.
Kayserispor possible starting lineup:
Bayazit; Civelek, Kolovestsios, Houssini, Attamah; Cardoso, Kemen, Mensah; Bassan, Thiam, Mane
Alanyaspor possible starting lineup:
Runarsson; Pereira, Bayir, Feddal, Ozdemir; Lusamba, Fer; Candeis, Karaca, Eduardo; Koulouris
We say: Kayserispor 2-0 Alanyaspor
Without a win on their travels since August, Alanyaspor are not expected to pull up trees against a team they have dominated for years.
Indeed, this is Kayserispor's best opportunity to end their wretched run against the club from Alanya.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
