Konyaspor will be looking to pick up a fifth consecutive home victory and move top of the Super Lig standings when they welcome Gaziantep FK to the Konya Buyuksehir Arena on Sunday.

The visiting side, on the other hand, head into the weekend without a win in any of their last five outings and will be looking to end this dry spell.

Match preview

Konyaspor were denied a third win on the bounce across all competitions as they could only salvage a 1-1 draw against Antalyaspor when the sides squared off at the Corendon Airlines Park Antalya Stadium last Saturday.

Following an uneventful first half, the game sparked into life six minutes into the second period when Fernando struck to put the hosts ahead, but Francisco Calvo converted his 96th-minute pk to force a share of the spoils.

Prior to that, the Anadolu Kartali secured a 4-1 victory over second-tier Adanasporr in a friendly matchup on September 25 before seeing off Umraniyespor 1-0 in the league one week later.

Konyaspor now return home, where they are currently on a four-game winning streak across all competitions and are unbeaten in each of their last five league outings, claiming four wins and one draw since April's 2-1 loss to Fatih Karagumruk.

Ilhan Palut's men have picked up five wins, three draws and lost just one of their opening nine league outings to collect 18 points and sit third in the Super Lig standings, level on points with Besiktas and Adana Demirspor at the top of the pile.

Gaziantep, on the other hand, failed to find their feet as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Adana Demirspor at the Gaziantep Stadium last weekend.

In a game where defender Ertugrul Ersoy received his marching orders, Britt Assombalonga opened the scoring on the hour mark to put the visitors ahead but former Liverpool man Lazar Markovic restored parity nine minutes later.

Gaziantep have now failed to win any of their last five games across all competitions, picking up just two points from a possible 15 since their 5-2 victory over Antalyaspor on August 26.

This poor run of results has been owing to their struggles on the road, where they are currently on a run of three consecutive defeats, conceding six goals and scoring three since claiming a 2-1 win at Hatayspor on August 20.

With 12 points from their opening nine games, Erol Bulut's side are currently 10th in the Super Lig standings, level on points with 11th-placed Alanyaspor, albeit with one game in hand.

While Gaziantep will be looking to arrest their slump and strengthen their position in the top half of the standings, next up is a trip to the Konya Buyuksehir Arena where they have failed to win any of their last six visits, losing three and claiming three draws since a 1-0 victory in January 2010.

Team News

Komyaspor will take to the pitch without Turkish defender Cebrail Karayel, who is set to sit out his third game on the bounce after sustaining a muscle injury back in September.

Muhammet Demir has been a standout performer for Palut's men this season and the former Trabzonspor forward, who has four goals in nine league outings, should spearhead the attack once again.

Gaziantep will be without Turkish centre-back Ertugrul Ersoy, who will serve the first of his three-game suspension after receiving his marching orders against Adana Demirspor last weekend.

In his absence, Arda Kizildag should push for a come into the fold to team up with Omurcan Artan and Alin Tosca in the back three, while Papy Djilobodji will serve a one-match ban after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking last time out.

On the injury front, Gaziantep will have to cope without midfielder Mustafa Eskihellac, who has missed each of the last three matches after suffering a muscle problem against Trabzonspor on September 18.

Konyaspor possible starting lineup:
Sehic; Oguz, Demirbag, Demirtas, Haubert; Dikmen, Hadziahmetovic; Muric, Cekici, Bytyqi; Demir

Gaziantep possible starting lineup:
Guvenc; Hanousek, Kizildag, Tosca, Kitsiou; Jevtovic, Soyalp; Markovic, Maxim, Figueiredo; Pekhart

We say: Konyaspor 2-1 Gaziantep

Konyaspor head into the weekend as firm favourites to come away with the desired result as they are unbeaten in their last six home games against Gaziantep. The visitors have struggled to grind out results in recent weeks and we predict that Palut's men will make use of their home advantage once again to claim a slender victory.

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

Written by
Joshua Ojele

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