Seeking to snap their three-game losing streak, Kayserispor play host to Sivasspor at the Kadir Has Stadium in round 19 of the Turkish Super Lig on Friday.
Having suffered a 3-2 loss when the sides squared off in the 2021-22 Turkiye Kupasi final back in May, the hosts will head into the weekend looking to get one over Yigidolar Yigidos.
Match preview
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Kayserispor were denied their first win of the new year as they suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Ankaragucu when the sides squared off at the Eryaman Stadium last Sunday.
After going ahead courtesy of Miguel Cardoso's 14th-minute strike, Ali Sowe restored parity for the hosts to force a first-half draw before Emre Kilinic completed the comeback in the 63rd minute.
Prior to that, Cagdas Atan's men secured a 2-0 victory over Genclerbirligi on December 22 to reach the round of 16 of the Turkish Cup before suffering consecutive league defeats against Alanyaspor and Fatih Karagumruk.
Kayserispor have now lost each of their last four matches in the Super Lig, scoring five goals and conceding 11, since going five consecutive games without defeat between October and November.
This drop-off in form has seen the Anadolu Yildizi fall to ninth place in the league standings with 23 points from 17 matches, one point off eighth-placed Alanyaspor, albeit with one game in hand.
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On the other hand, Sivasspor failed to return to winning ways last time out as they could only salvage a 2-2 draw against Konyaspor when the sides met at the Konya Buyuksehir Arena last Wednesday.
Muhammet Demir and Amir Hadziahmetovic scored in either half to put the Anadolu Kartali ahead, but Max Gradel and Charis Charisis found the back of the net on each occasion to force a share of the spoils.
Prior to that, Yigidolar Yigidos suffered a 2-1 home loss at the hands of Galatasaray on December 29 which saw their run of three consecutive victories across all competitions come to an end.
Sivasspor are currently winless in six of their last seven league outings — losing four and claiming two draws — with their Christmas Eve 2-1 win against Kasimpasa at the Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadium being the only exception.
With 15 points from 17 matches, Riza Calimbay's side are currently 17th in the Turkish Super Lig standings, three points above rock-bottom Istanbulspor and two points off safety.
Team News
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Kayserispor will have to make do without the services of Turkish forward Nurettin Korkmaz, who has been out of action since last May through an ACL injury.
Mame Baba Thiam has missed the last four games through an ankle injury and the Senegalese forward will play no part in this weekend's encounter.
Meanwhile, Sivasspor will take to the pitch without the defensive duo of Murat Paluli and Aaron Appindangoye, who are currently recuperating from ACL and ankle injuries respectively.
They are joined on the club's injury table by Nigerian forward Leke James, who has been out of action since last September through a severe ankle problem.
With his strike against Konyaspor, Gradel has now scored in three consecutive matches across all competitions and we expect the 35-year-old to lead the visitors' attack once again.
Kayserispor possible starting lineup:
Bayazit; Bulut, Kolovetsios, Kocaman, Carole; Campanharo; Sazdagi, Kemen, Mane, Cardoso; Parlak
Sivasspor possible starting lineup:
Sasal; Yalcin, Osmanpasa, Goutas, Erdal; Arslan, Keita, Ulvestad; NJie, Angielski, Gradel
We say: Kayserispor 1-2 Sivasspor
Off the back of a resilient team display against Konyaspor, Sivasspor will head into the weekend with renewed confidence. Kayserispor, meanwhile, have suffered a drop-off in form in recent weeks and we are backing the visitors to take the positives from last Wednesday's draw and claim a slender victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
