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ItalianoKonyaspor will look to strengthen their position in second place in the Turkish Super Lig table on Sunday, when they travel to take on Alanyaspor.
A three-game winless run has seen the visitors' lead over third place cut to just three points, while their hosts dropped to seventh spot after a defeat of their own last time out.
Match preview
Following an impressive first half to the season and three consecutive wins in January, defeating Altay, Hatayspor and Giresunspor, Alanyaspor sat in a strong position in their bid for a surprise top-four finish in the Turkish Super Lig.
Those hopes have since taken a major hit, though, with Francesco Farioli's side failing to add another notch to their wins column in the last three attempts.
After draws with Galatasaray and Kasimpasa, both of whom occupy spots in the bottom half, Alanyaspor faced the tough test of a clash with runaway league leaders Trabzonspor last time out, and they were thrashed 4-0 with an Anthony Nwakaeme brace and goals from Andreas Cornelius and Dorukhan Tokoz all coming in the first half.
As a result of their dip in form, Farioli's men have now dropped to seventh spot in the Turkish top flight, and, with fourth-placed Adana Demirspor now four points ahead, they will be desperate to correct their form to keep themselves in the fight at the top end of the table.
The visitors are also looking to return to winning ways after a difficult patch, with Konyaspor previously establishing themselves in the top two after 23 games of the season with an eye-catching tally of 48 points.
In their bid to stretch a winning run, Trabzonspor stood in the way, and the league leaders handed Sunday's visitors a narrow 2-1 defeat, before Ilhan Palut's side could only snatch a point at home to Kasimpasa in a dramatic 4-4 draw, as Sokol Cikalleshi rescued a draw by converting a penalty in the 10th minute of added time.
Anadolu Kartali then met a resurgent Istanbul Basaksehir side last time out, and a Fredrik Gulbrandsen finish and a Musa Cagiran own goal saw the capital side pick up a 3-1 win and move up to third spot, just three points behind Konyaspor.
Palut's men will now know that they will quickly lose their position in second place if they are unable to put an end to their slip on Sunday.
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Team News
Following their heavy defeat last time out, Alanyaspor's veteran goalkeeper Jose Marafona may see his place at risk with Serkan Kirintili vying to take the spot between the sticks.
Senegal international Famara Diedhiou should lead the line after being reduced to a substitute appearance last time out, with the Africa Cup of Nations winner having netted seven league goals this season.
Elsewhere, experienced midfielder Leroy Fer could be called upon to add steel in the engine room after a concerning team performance against the league leaders.
Konyaspor will have to deal with the absence of key midfielder Amir Hadziahmetovic, who is suspended for Sunday's meeting.
However, they will be boosted by the return of Abdulkerim Bardakci from a suspension of his own, and he will come straight back into the back four alongside Adil Demirbag.
Sokol Cikalleshi should again lead the line, having hit seven league goals alongside two assists in 22 appearances so far this term.
Alanyaspor possible starting lineup:
Kirintili; Juanfran, Milunovic, Aksoy, Borja; Novais, Fer; Eduardo, Akbaba, Karaca; Diedhiou
Konyaspor possible starting lineup:
Sehic; Skubic, Bardakci, Demirbag, Guilherme; M'Poku, Cagiran, Dikmen; Amilton, Cikalleshi, Bytyqi
We say: Alanyaspor 1-1 Konyaspor
With both sides having enjoyed strong seasons but looking to break difficult runs, this promises to be an intriguing encounter, and we cannot quite pick a winner.
They each boast the attacking ability to threaten one another but could both be content with a share of the spoils.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Alanyaspor win with a probability of 47.34%. A win for Konyaspor had a probability of 29.13% and a draw had a probability of 23.5%.
The most likely scoreline for an Alanyaspor win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.38%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.25%) and 2-0 (7.14%). The likeliest Konyaspor win was 1-2 (7.1%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.82%). The actual scoreline of 5-1 was predicted with a 0.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Alanyaspor would win this match.
