Trabzonspor will return to Turkish Super Lig business on Sunday evening as they host Konyaspor at the Medical Park Stadyumu, with both teams able to break into the top three with a victory.
Last season's champions are unbeaten in their last five in the league after an unconvincing start, whereas Konyaspor will be looking for three points to help bolster their chances of securing European football for a second season running after a third-placed finish last campaign.
Match preview
© Reuters
Despite a 1-0 victory over Ferencvaros in the final group-stage game of their Europa League campaign, Trabzonspor narrowly missed out on qualification to the knockout stages of UEFA's secondary club competition and instead had to settle for a place in the Europa Conference League playoff round next year after finishing third in a highly-competitive Group H.
Things have not gone to plan domestically so far for Trabzonspor, who currently sit sixth in the Super Lig, five points off league-leaders Fenerbahce as the World Cup break approaches.
Having collected 21 points from their opening 11 outings, Trabzonspor's league standing is not a sign of their own failures but more a testament to the blistering form of those above them, especially a Fenerbahce side who sit top of the Turkish pile having lost just once so far this season.
Abdullah Avci's men face two clashes against sides below them in the table before the World Cup break, and you feel six points out of that pair of fixtures will be a minimum requirement if they want to close the gap on their in-form title rivals from Istanbul.
Like their hosts on Sunday, Konyaspor have battled on the continent this season, but a disappointing defeat to Swiss second-tier minnows FC Vaduz over two legs ended their Europa Conference League dreams way back in August, with focus now firmly on domestic matters for the rest of the campaign.
Ilhan Palut's side are going through a tricky spell in their season, having tasted victory just once in their last six Super Lig games, leaving them seventh in the league standings with 20 points collected from 12 matches.
Despite a lack of maximums in recent times, Konyaspor have remained hard to beat, highlighted by the fact that three of their last four games have ended in 1-1 draws, with the Konya-based club only coming out on the losing side twice in their opening 12 matchups of this season.
Palut has managed to make his team defensively solid on their travels to date, having only conceded four goals in six away outings, a record that can only be bested by league-leaders Fenerbahce and second-placed Istanbul Basaksehir.
Team News
© Reuters
Trabzonspor will be without the services of attacking midfielder Yusuf Yazici on Sunday, with the 25-year-old serving the final match of his two-game suspension for a direct red card received in the 2-2 draw at Besiktas last month.
Eren Elmali picked up his fourth yellow card of the season against Sivasspor in his side's last Super Lig fixture so will be suspended for the visit of Konyaspor this weekend.
Albanian midfielder Endri Cekici played a full 90 minutes for Konyaspor against Kasimpasa despite sustaining a hamstring injury and will now be out until after the World Cup break, with Soner Dikmen likely to replace the ex-Dinamo Zagreb youngster in the starting XI.
Apart from a hamstrung Cekici there are no other injury concerns for Palut to contend with, but changes are likely to be made in attacking areas as Konyaspor try to improve on their average of just a single goal per game so far this season.
Trabzonspor possible starting lineup:
Cakir; Larsen, Batra, Hugo, Erdogan; Hamsik, Gbamin, Omur, Bakasetas, Trezeguet; Gomez
Konyaspor possible starting lineup:
Sehic; Oguz, Calvo, Demirbag, Guilherme; Paz, Hadziahmetovic, Michalak, Dikmen, Bytyqi; Diouf
We say: Trabzonspor 2-0 Konyaspor
Trabzonspor have improved after a stuttering start to the defence of their Super Lig title and will be confident in collecting maximum points at home this weekend.
Konyaspor have struggled to convert their scoring chances so far this season and a trip to the home of the champions is not a likely destination for Palut's men to start firing in goals, meaning a comfortable home win could be on the cards here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Carter White
