Preview: Konyaspor vs. Fenerbahce - prediction, team news, lineups

Looking to end their run of three games without a win, Fenerbahce take a trip to the Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium to face Konyaspor on Saturday.

The hosts, meanwhile, head into the game fresh off the back of ending their five-game winless run and will be looking to build on that performance.

Match preview

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Konyaspor returned to winning ways in the Turkish Super Lig last Saturday when they cruised to a 2-0 victory over Kayserispor on home turf.

Serdar Gurler grabbed his second goal in four outings to put the hosts ahead inside the opening nine minutes before Amir Hadziahmetovic made sure of the result on the stroke of half time to condemn the visitors to a second straight defeat.

Prior to that, the Anadolu Kartali suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Galatasaray, where Mostafa Mohamed scored the only goal of the game four minutes in to end the visitors' run of four straight draws.

Despite all their recent struggles, Ilhan Palut will feel satisfied with his side's position in the Super Lig standings, as they have lost just once to date and currently occupy seventh place after picking up 17 points from their opening 10 outings and could rise as high as fourth with a win on Saturday.

The Turkish manager will also take pride in the impressive job done at the defensive end of the pitch, where they boast the division's third-best record with nine goals conceded.

However, next up is an opposing side who have enjoyed huge success in recent meetings between the teams, claiming 12 wins and three draws from 20 games.

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Fenerbahce, on the other hand, were left empty handed in the league for the second game running as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Alanyaspor on home turf last time out.

Following a drab first half, the game was sparked into life in the final 15 minutes as Emre Akbaba and Efkan Bekiroglu netted either side of Serdar Dursun's 80th-minute equaliser to hand the visitors their sixth win of the season.

Prior to that, Vitor Pereira's men fell to a 3-1 defeat versus league leaders Trabzonspor two Sundays ago before settling for a 2-2 draw against Royal Antwerp in Group D of the Europa League four days later.

This dip in form has seen the 28-time champions drop to fifth place on the log, five points adrift of first-place Trabzonspor and this has been owing to their recent struggles in defence where they have shipped seven goals in their last three league outings.

Team News

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Konyaspor will take to the pitch without Paul-Jose M'Poku, who is set to sit out his fourth consecutive game after coming off with a muscle problem against Alanyaspor on October 2.

Other than that, there are no concerns on the injury front for the hosts, and following their solid display last time out, Palut could name an unchanged XI for the second game running.

Meanwhile, Serdar Aziz remains unavailable for Fenerbahce after the Turkish defender picked up a muscle problem while on international duty against Norway on October 8.

He is joined on the visitor's injury table by the midfield duo of Mert Hakan Yandas and Irfan Can Kahveci, who are recuperating from ankle and muscle injuries respectively.

Konyaspor possible starting lineup:

Sehic; Skubic, Calik, Bardakci, Sitya; Bytyqi, Gurler, Ulgun, Hadziahmetovic; Cekici, Hassan

Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:

Bayindir; Tisserand, Szalai, Novak; Sangare, Sosa, Gustavo, Kadioglu; Ozil, Valencia, Dursun

We say: Konyaspor 1-1 Fenerbahce

With just two points and two places between the sides in the top half of the table, this game has all the makings of a proper contest. We anticipate a cautious approach from both parties with a share of the spoils in this one.