Two in-form teams meet at the Kadir Has Sehir Stadi on Wednesday, when Kayserispor, who are unbeaten in their last six matches in all competitions, host fourth-placed Istanbul Basaksehir.
A 12-game unbeaten run in the Turkish Super Lig for this week's visitors has placed them in the Europa Conference League spots, but they will have second spot in their minds with a game in hand against Konyaspor to come also.
Match preview
Hikmet Karaman's side currently occupy 12th spot in the division, and their decent form through December and so far this month has helped them climb seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Carlos Mane's first league goal of the campaign helped Kayserispor rescue a point late on in their last outing against fifth-placed Adana Demirspor, helping the side move up a place in the table.
Wednesday's hosts should be confident of taking more points away from another side in amongst the European qualification positions, with their strong home form suggesting that the advantage is with Kayserispor this week.
Karaman's team have only lost one game out of the 10 that they have played on their own patch and are currently on a run of eight games without defeat at home in all competitions.
However, Kayserispor's visitors will not make it easy for the home side, with Istanbul Basaksehir having put together a six-game unbeaten run on their travels after losing their first four away matches.
Emre Belozoglu has had quite the impact at Istanbul Basaksehir since taking over from Aykut Kocaman in October, not tasting defeat yet after 12 Turkish Super Lig matches.
Basaksehir were due to face second-placed Konyaspor on the weekend, but that game was postponed due to the tragic death of Konyaspor defender Ahmet Calik.
That means Belozoglu's side last played nearly two weeks ago when they drew 1-1 with Alanyaspor, and that proved to be an important point for the visitors as it kept Basaksehir from being leapfrogged by their hosts.
In modern history, Istanbul Basaksehir have recorded the most favourable results from this fixture, but it was Kayserispor who got the better of Wednesday's opponents in the reverse fixture this season, winning 1-0 away from home in August.
- L
- D
- D
- W
- W
- D
- D
- D
- W
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- D
- W
- D
- D
Team News
Senegal international Mame Thiam remains unavailable to Kayserispor as he is away playing in the Africa Cup of Nations, and the 29-year-old is a big miss in the attacking third for Karaman's side, as he is the team's top goalscorer with nine this season.
Gustavo Campanharo has not featured since the end of December and he will remain sidelined until next month with a knee injury, while Dimitrios Kolovetsios and Bernard Mensah are not expected to play again this season with long-term injuries keeping them in the physio room.
The home team will operate in a 4-4-2 formation, with Mustafa Pektemek and Mario Gavranovic expected to continue to lead the line, while Majid Hosseini and Ugur Demirok are likely to continue their partnership in the heart of defence.
Carlos Ponck is away on international duty in the Africa Cup of Nations and so will be absent from Istanbul Basaksehir's squad, along with Omer Ali Sahiner, who will serve his one-match suspension on Wednesday after being sent off against Alanyaspor.
Goalkeeper Volkan Babacan made his return to the side last time out after missing six Super Lig games, and he will continue between the posts with Muhammed Sengezer dropping to the bench.
Kayserispor possible starting lineup:
Lung Jr; Carole, Hosseini, Demirok, Bulut; Sazdagi, Akdag, Attamah, Cardoso; Pektemek, Gavranoivc
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Babacan; Kaldirim, Duarte, Ndayishimiye, Caicara; Tekdemir; Turuc, Ozcan, Aleksic, Visca; Chuka
We say: Kayserispor 1-2 Istanbul Basaksehir
After having the weekend off with their game being cancelled, Istanbul Basaksehir should start this game very quickly which could give them the upper hand throughout.
With Kayserispor also in good form heading into this encounter, the home side are likely to get on the scoresheet, but the visitors are expected to collect three points having had extra rest.
Top tip
Sammy Wynne
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 Istanbul Basaksehir win with a probability of 40.25%. A win for Kayserispor had a probability of 32.35% and a draw had a probability of 27.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Istanbul Basaksehir win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.47%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.37%) and 0-2 (7.42%). The likeliest Kayserispor win was 1-0 (10.02%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.95%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 10% likelihood.
