Preview:Sivasspor vs. Besiktas - prediction, team news, lineups

On Saturday, 12th placed Sivasspor will play host to a Besiktas side that are closing in on the Super Lig top four.

The hosts have won once in their last six league games, while the Black Eagles are unbeaten in their previous 10 matches in all competitions.

Match preview

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With eight points separating themselves from the drop zone, Sivasspor will be confident that they can avoid being dragged into a relegation battle despite their recent run of poor form.

However, after finishing in fourth and fifth place in their last two seasons respectively, Sivasspor will be slightly disappointed with how the current campaign has panned out.

They fell to a narrow defeat in their most recent fixture, as Fabio Borini scored from the spot for Fatih Karagumruk in the second half to condemn Sivasspor to a 1-0 defeat.

Although they have only lost once at home in the league this term, Sivasspor have struggled to convert home draws into victories.

No team has drawn more home matches in the Super Lig than Sivasspor (8), but they will be confident of claiming a positive result on Saturday as they look to extend their unbeaten home run to 14 games in all competitions.

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Although their defence of the league title has not gone as planned, Besiktas have turned their fortunes around in the last couple of months after a disappointing first half of the season.

Yet to lose in 2022, Besiktas will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to 11 games in all competitions when they face Sivasspor on Saturday.

They ended a run of three consecutive league draws in their last outing as they edged out Altay to claim a 1-0 victory thanks to Domagoj Vida's winner.

That result leaves them in sixth place ahead of Saturday's contest, with three points separating the Black Eagles from the top four.

Despite their promising run of form, Besiktas still require an improvement on their travels having won just two away league games this season.

Team News

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Leke James is a long-term absentee for Sivasspor, while a thigh problem will prevent Ahmet Oguz from taking part in Saturday's encounter.

The hosts will also be without Max Gradel who will serve a one-match suspension due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Isaac Cofie will keep his place in the starting lineup after returning from suspension to start in the defeat to Fatih Karagumruk last time out.

As for Besiktas, they have a number of injury absentees, with Miralem Pjanic, Oguzhan Ozyakup, Cyle Larin and Ridvan Yilmaz all expected to miss the weekend's contest.

Kerem Kalafat has started the last three games for Besiktas, and he will continue at right-back on Saturday.

After serving his one-match suspension, Michy Batshuayi will return to the starting XI as he looks to add to the nine league goals he has scored this season.

Sivasspor possible starting lineup:

Yildirim; Yesilyurt, Osmanpasa, Goutas, Ciftci; Yilmaz, Fajr, Cofie, Felix, Henrique; Kayode

Besiktas possible starting lineup:

Destanoglu; Kalafat, Welinton, Vida, Meras; Uysal, Souza; Ghezzal, Teixeira, Karaman; Batshuayi

We say: Sivasspor 2-2 Besiktas

Although Sivasspor are struggling for league wins of late, they have proven to be a tough nut to crack on home turf with eight home draws to their name.

Meanwhile, Besiktas have also seen a number of their matches end level with three of their last four league contests finishing all square, and we think that they will have to settle for another point on Saturday.