Preview: Konyaspor vs Kocaelispor - prediction, team news, lineups

Konyaspor host Kocaelispor at Konya Buyuksehir Belediye Stadium on Saturday in the third round of the Turkish Super Lig season, with both sides looking to build on contrasting results from their most recent outings.

Ilhan Palut's men have lost their opening two matches, including a 4-2 defeat at Fenerbahce last weekend, while the Kocaeli side responded to an opening-day loss with a 2-0 victory over Amed SK on Monday.

Match preview

Konyaspor have endured a difficult start to the new campaign, losing 1-0 at home to Caykur Rizespor before suffering a 4-2 defeat away to Fenerbahce.

The opening-day loss was particularly disappointing because the Anatolian Eagles struggled to create clear opportunities, recording only seven shots and 0.61 expected goals, while Rizespor managed 14 attempts and 1.52 xG, as Qazim Laci's stoppage-time penalty ultimately settled a contest in which the visitors posed the greater attacking threat.

There was a much more encouraging attacking display against Fenerbahce, even though the result was another defeat, with Ebrima Colley cancelling out Vedat Muriqi's early opener before Mason Greenwood and Marco Asensio gave the hosts a 3-1 half-time lead, with Greenwood adding another shortly after the interval, while Deniz Turuc pulled one back for the Konya side in stoppage time.

The performance was considerably better than the scoreline suggested, with Konyaspor edging possession, while they attempted 17 shots to Fenerbahce's 20 and registered eight efforts on target with 2.15 expected goals, suggesting that Palut's side were capable of creating problems against a team with considerably greater individual quality.

The concern is that Konyaspor have now conceded five goals in their opening two league matches, having failed to keep a clean sheet in either game, and that is a continuation of a problem from last season, when they finished ninth with 40 points but conceded 50 goals, with only five teams conceding more.

Their home record was considerably stronger, though, with six wins, six draws and five defeats from 17 league matches at their own ground, although the Anatolian side did lose at home to Kocaelispor last season (2-1).

Kocaelispor, meanwhile, enter the fixture with three points from their opening two games after recovering from a 2-0 defeat at Istanbul Basaksehir to beat Amedspor by the same scoreline on Monday.

Selcuk Inan's side were more efficient than dominant against Amedspor, creating the better chances despite having less of the ball, with Berkan Kutlu scoring just after 15 minutes before Matej Maglica secured victory late in the game.

Kocaelispor's overall attacking record remains modest, however, having scored only 26 goals in 34 league matches last season, averaging 0.76 per game, the lowest in the league, and that is an issue they will look to solve sustainably to avoid being drawn into the relegation scrap.

Their away record was also a weakness last season, with just three victories from 17 trips compared with six wins at home, and that makes Saturday's fixture an interesting test of whether their improved performance against Amedspor can translate to the road.

Inan himself acknowledged the difficulty of the assignment, describing Konyaspor as one of the league's consistent teams and highlighting the challenge of playing in Konya, while he also stressed that his side are improving and intend to compete for another victory.

Konyaspor Turkish Super Lig form:

Konyaspor form (all competitions):

Kocaelispor Turkish Super Lig form:

Kocaelispor form (all competitions):

Team News

Konyaspor are expected to have their full squad available for this game, and Palut might be looking to make changes defensively, either through the team's shape or personnel.

Palut could retain the 4-2-3-1 structure used against Fenerbahce, with Turuc and Colley on the wings, while Jackson Muleka remains the main attacking option through the centre.

However, there is also the option of reverting to the 3-4-2-1 he deployed in the season opener, with a back three of Ugurcan Yazgili, Chidozie Awaziem and Adil Demirbag.

Kocaelispor have a more significant concern in attack, with Bruno Petkovic expected to miss the match because of a thigh strain, while goalkeeper Aleksandar Jovanovic continues to recover from a knee issue.

Petkovic's absence would deprive Inan of the striker who scored four times in their opening eight matches of last season, including against Fenerbahce and Kayserispor, and Dan Agyei is therefore expected to lead the line again.

Konyaspor possible starting lineup:

Ertas; Yazgili, Awaziem, Demirbag, Andzouana; Jevtovic, Ibrahimoglu; Turuc, Goncalves, Colley; Muleka

Kocaelispor possible starting lineup:

Oztasdelen; Dijksteel, Zoukrou, Ortakaya, Haidara; Kutlu, Show, Susoho; Baku, Agyei, Sousa

We say: Konyaspor 2-1 Kocaelispor

We expect Konyaspor to take the initiative and create more opportunities than they did against Rizespor, with Turuc and Colley capable of exploiting the spaces around Kocaelispor's back four.

The visitors should remain competitive and have enough attacking quality to score, but Palut's side should finally turn their improved attacking performance into a first victory of the season.

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