Gaziantepvs.Antalyaspor

Selcuk Inan's charges have enjoyed a good run of form at home recently, but welcome an in-form Antalyaspor side who are enjoying their longest unbeaten run since January having won five and drawn one of their last six games in all competitions.

Match preview

Home fixtures have been a source of joy for Gaziantep fans in the Turkish top division lately, with a run of four consecutive victories at the Kalyon Stadyumu in the league.

Selcuk Inan's team replicated their superb home league form in the Turkish Cup by claiming a 2-0 win over fourth-tier outfit 52 Orduspor to progress to the next round of the competition on Wednesday.

Bosnian forward Kenan Kondro scored a brace to ensure that the South-Central Turkish side secured their passage to the next round, with the first goal recorded in the 61st minute and the second coming nine minutes later.

Unbeaten in their last six top-flight outings at home (four wins and two draws), it is only their torrid away form which prevents them from sitting higher than their current position of 12th in the table.

Gaziantep, who posted one of the worst home records in the division last season, have lost just once in front of their own fans so far this term and boast the best defensive stats in the league at home, but on their travels they have conceded the most goals in the league, have lost more games than any other team and have picked up only one win.

A 3-0 loss at Alanyaspor in their last league game was the latest of those away days to forget, but back in more familiar surroundings they will be confident of getting a positive result in front of their supporters this weekend.

Victory could see Gaziantep move above their opponents in the table, and potentially as high as eighth depending on results elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Antalyaspor will be full of confidence ahead of this fixture, having gone unbeaten in their last four Super Lig engagements, posting three wins and a draw.

Since the 2-0 loss at Samsunspor in gameweek 11, the visitors have managed to keep their heads above water in the Turkish elite division.

Currently occupying eighth position in the Super Lig table, the visitors will aim to improve their position and also claim their first away win in three league games since their 2-1 victory on the road at Alanyaspor in late October.

The Scorpions did claim a 4-3 penalty shootout win over Mus Spor in Wednesday's Turkish Cup fifth round fixture, after a 1-1 stalemate in regulation time away from home, and while being taken all the way by lower-league opposition may not have been part of the plan, it did extend Antalyaspor's unbeaten run to six games across all competitions.

However, Alex De Souza's team have still been struggling away from home, and their atrocious results on their travels are exemplified by their solitary win in their last 11 exertions in the top tier, stretching back to March.

Gaziantep Turkish Super Lig form:

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Gaziantep form (all competitions):

Antalyaspor Turkish Super Lig form:

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Antalyaspor form (all competitions):

Team News

Gaziantep are grappling with several injury concerns, with Godfrey Bitok (tendon), Sokratis Dioudis (thigh) and Deian Sorescu (thigh) all unavailable.

As a result, Mustafa Eskihallac is likely to start at left-back, Burak Bozan will be in goal and Christopher Lungoyi is expected to feature on the right wing.

However, there is some positive news for Gaziantep, as Badou Ndiaye returns from suspension.

Antalyaspor, on the other hand, will be without their first-choice left-back, Erdogan Yesilyurt, who is out with a hamstring injury, with Abdurrahim Dursun set to fill the void in his absence.

Emre Uzun, Burac Ingec and Guray Vural are all ruled out through injury and will not feature in this fixture, with the latter hamstrung.

Sam Larsson may have fired blanks against Kayserispor, but the Swede remains the team's top scorer (five goals) and is atop the goal involvement list with eight, highlighting his importance to the Scorpions' attack.

Gaziantep possible starting lineup:

Buzan; M'bakata, Kizildag, Viana, Eskihallac; Daubina, Ozcicek; Lungoyi, Maxim, Okereke; Dervisoglu

Antalyaspor possible starting lineup:

Piric; Kelven, Yilmaz, Dursun, Sari; Kaluzinki, Petrusenko; Van de Streek, Larsson, Dikmen; Gaich

We say: Gaziantep 1-1 Antalyaspor

Despite both teams showing decent form and a knack for scoring goals in recent matches, neither has done enough to be considered favourites in this fixture.

Therefore, a stalemate is likely to be the outcome of this encounter, and we reckon both sides will play out a 1-1 draw.

Written by

Ademola Adediji

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