Preview: Ankaragucu vs. Alanyaspor - prediction, team news, lineups

The home side come into this clash off the back of a 2-1 defeat against Besiktas in their last outing, while the visitors enjoyed a 1-0 victory over Istanbul Basaksehir last week.

Match preview

After achieving promotion from the Turkish Second League last season, Ankaragucu have endured a relatively difficult campaign back at the top-flight level, as they dangerously linger 17th in the Turkish Super Lig table.

Last time out the home side suffered their third consecutive league defeat in a 2-1 loss to Besiktas, as Vincent Aboubakar quickly struck back to cancel out Ali Sowe's equaliser in the 52nd minute.

However, at times their defending looked unnerving at the back, as a strong performance from goalkeeper Gokhan Akkan assured that the scoreline stayed at two, making eight saves in the match.

This defensive fragility may be down to the inexperience of Sedat Agcay, who recently took charge of the side after Omer Erdogan's departure, with the club likely to keep him until the end of the season.

In this upcoming affair, the home side will look to defend deeply to disarm Alanyaspor's counter-attacking threat, with three points plausibly being enough to lift them out of the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, Ersun Yanal was able to get off to a flying start in charge of his new side Alanyaspor when upsetting the odds to defeat Istanbul 1-0 through Efkan Bekiroglu's second-half strike.

It was a very different watch to the free-flowing attacking style that Alanyaspor had played underneath former manager Francesco Farioli, as they were much more defensively focused in this match than had been witnessed before.

Yanal will likely deploy similar defensive-minded tactics in this game, as he looks to establish a solid foundation at the club and put an end to their run of 10 away games without a win.

However, his side will come into this game with high levels of confidence, as they possess a faultless recent record over their opponents in their head-to-head history, having won all six of the last meetings between the two sides.

Ahmed Hassan Koka will play a crucial role in his new manager's tactical setup, as the club's top-scorer will be key in linking up his side in transitions out of their low defensive block.

Ankaragucu Turkish Super Lig form:

W

L

W

L

L

L

Alanyaspor Turkish Super Lig form:

W

D

L

L

L

W

Team News

Agcay is predicted to only make one change to the side that were beaten 2-1 against Besiktas last weekend.

Nihad Mujakic is anticipated to drop out of the starting lineup, with Atakan Cankaya to replace him at centre-back.

Ali Sowe is expected to lead the line in this clash, with the forward being the club's top scorer so far this season, dispatching six in the league.

Yanal is likely to make two changes to the side that caused an upset against Istanbul in their last outing.

Pedro Pereira is expected to make his first return to the side since January, with Fatih Aksoy to make way at right-back.

Leroy Fer will be suspended for this match and is anticipated to be replaced by Idrissa Doumbia in the midfield.

Ankaragucu possible starting lineup:

Akkan; Malcuit, Cankaya, Radakovic, Kaldirim; Diack; Kilinic, Pedrinho, Zahid, Beridze; Sowe

Alanyaspor possible starting lineup:

Runarsson; Pereira, Bayir, Feddal, Ozdemir; Gunes, Doumbia; Karaca, Bekiroglu, Cavaleiro; Koka

We say: Ankaragucu 0-1 Alanyaspor

We believe that this will be a low-scoring affair due to the low attacking output of both sides, but think that the visitors will take the victory from this match as they possess a more potent frontline than the hosts.

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