Kayserispor will be hoping to extend their unbeaten home run to four matches when they welcome Gaziantep to the Kadir Has Sehir Stadi for their mid-table Super Lig clash on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors, meanwhile, are hoping to avoid a sixth successive league defeat on the road, after losing each of their last five by an aggregate score of 13-2.
Match preview
Kayserispor were unable to claim their third successive league victory as they suffered a 4-2 defeat away against Super Lig holders Besiktas last weekend.
After Cyle Larin had cancelled out Mame Thiam's opener on the stroke of half time, Thiam bagged his second of the game in the 71st minute to put the visitors back in front. However, a brace in the final five minutes from Michy Batshuayi turned the game on its head before Guven Yalcin added a fourth for the hosts deep into stoppage time.
Hikmet Karaman's men have dropped down to 15th in the Super Lig table, four points above the relegation zone and two behind Sunday's opponents Gaziantep.
Kayserispor head into Sunday's fixture with a much better record on home soil, accumulating 14 of their 19 points at the Kadir Has Sehir Stadi.
However, each of their three competitive home meetings against Gaziantep have ended as draws, including last season's goalless stalemate, so they will need to be on top of their game if they are to come away with all three points this weekend.
While Kayserispor's form on home soil has been impressive, Gaziantep currently have the best home record in the division, winning six and drawing two of their eight matches.
The Falcons secured their fourth successive victory at the Gaziantep Stadyumu when they beat Turkish giants Fenerbahce 3-2 last weekend, with a brace from Joao Figueiredo and a penalty from Alexandru Maxim securing all three points for Erol Bulut's men.
Gaziantep remain in the bottom half of the table but have climbed seven points clear of the relegation zone, and they are also the same number of points behind the top four.
Form on home soil has been Gaziantep's saving grace so far this campaign, as they have accumulated 20 of their 21 points at the Gaziantep Stadyumu. Seven defeats and one draw from their eight away games, however, means that they have the second worst away record in the division and are one of only three Super Lig sides yet to win on the road this term.
The Falcons have alternated between victory and defeat in each of their last six matches, and after winning last weekend, they will be hoping to end this fluctuating run by securing a second successive victory on Sunday.
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Team News
Kayserispor midfielder Bernard Mensah – who is ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee ligament rupture – is the only injury concern for the hosts.
Striker Mario Gavranovic and centre-back Dimitrios Kolovestios have both returned from one-match suspensions and will be in contention to start ahead of Ilhan Parlak and Ugur Demirok respectively.
Thiam – who has now scored eight league goals this campaign, five more than any of his teammates – is set to continue on the left wing, with Emrah Bassan to operate on the opposite flank.
As for Gaziantep, midfielders Jefferson and Alexander Merkel could both miss the rest of 2021 with respective muscle and ligament injuries.
Maxim will serve a one-match suspension this weekend, following an accumulation of yellow cards, with Furkan Soyalp the most likely candidate to start in the number 10 role behind central striker Muhammet Demir.
Former Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers centre-back Steven Caulker, who has scored two goals in his last five appearances, is expected to start alongside Alin Tosca, shielding goalkeeper Gunay Guvenc.
Kayserispor possible starting lineup:
Lung Jr; Bulut, Hosseini, Kolovestios, Carole; Attamah, Campanharo; Bassan, Kemen, Thiam; Gavranovic
Gaziantep possible starting lineup:
Guvenc; Kitsiou, Tosca, Caulker, Pehlivan; Niyaz, Erdogan; Figueiredo, Soyalp, Sagal; Demir
We say: Kayserispor 2-1 Gaziantep
A closely-fought contest between Kayserispor and Gaziantep could be on the cards at the Kadir Has Sehir Stadi, considering both sides have won, drawn and lost two games each from their six competitive meetings.
With the two teams preferring to play at home so far this season, Sunday's fixture will likely favour Kayserispor, who may just do enough to edge out their opponents here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Kayserispor win with a probability of 51.01%. A draw had a probability of 25.3% and a win for Gaziantep had a probability of 23.66%.
The most likely scoreline for a Kayserispor win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.25%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.61%) and 2-1 (9.43%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.02%), while for a Gaziantep win it was 0-1 (7.67%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 7.8% likelihood.
