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

Both clubs are among the cluster of sides all within a few points of each other near the bottom of the standings.

Match preview

Being the league's lowest scorers, it is no surprise that Kasimpasa find themselves teetering just above the dotted line.

Sitting just two points clear of trouble, Selcuk Inan has come in as manager to take over from Senol Can, who oversaw his side score just 11 goals in their opening 13 games, a Super Lig low.

Poor form at home hardly helped matters for Can either, as 6-0 and 4-1 defeats here to Fenerbahce and Adana Demirspor contributed to them having one of the worst home records in the league.

Inan's first competitive match in charge saw them lose on home turf again though, to Umraniyespor in the Turkish Cup on Tuesday.

They could take some heart from a respectable result in their only friendly during the mid-season break, as a late Florent Hadergjonaj penalty saw them draw 1-1 with Trabzonspor.

Sivasspor, meanwhile, are in even more dire straits, as one point from their final four fixtures before the break saw them slip into the relegation zone.

While away defeats to Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor were understandable, drawing at home to bottom-placed Umraniyespor was a disappointment in their final match before the break.

Competing in the UEFA Europa Conference League has evidently disrupted their domestic campaign, as they picked up the same number of points (11) in six group games as they have done in 14 Super Lig matches this season.

They have shown promise since the break though, beating Partizani Tirana, Saarbrucken and Ankaragucu in friendlies before hammering Erokspor 5-2 in the cup this week.

The ideal resumption for them here would be to improve on their away form which ranks as the worst in the division, following five defeats from their six matches on the road.

Kasimpasa Turkish Super Lig form:

W

D

L

L

D

D

Kasimpasa form (all competitions):

D

L

L

D

D

D

Sivasspor Turkish Super Lig form:

W

W

L

L

L

D

Sivasspor form (all competitions):

L

W

L

D

L

D

Team News

Kasimpasa will have not played a Super Lig match in 50 days by the time this fixture comes around, the longest period of any side in the league.

Despite this, there are unlikely to be many changes to the side from the one which featured against Ankaragucu on November 4th.

Inan went full strength in the cup for his competitive debut as a manager, with nine of the same starters which featured in Can's final match before his departure.

They have since welcomed back many players from injury and suspension though, as Haris Hajradinovic and Mortadha Ben Ouanes have both served yellow card related bans.

Yunus Malli, Valentin Eysseric, Stephane Bahoken and Tarkan Serbest have all returned from injuries over the break too.

Riza Calimbay also named a relatively strong Sivasspor side for their cup tie in midweek, with key players Max Gradel, Mustafa Yatabare and Dia Saba among the starters.

Murat Paluli is back after missing the final three games before the break, but only made the bench against Erokspor on Tuesday.

Leke James is still out injured after going off against Slavia Prague in September and is set to be their only absentee.

Kasimpasa possible starting lineup:

Taskiran; Hadergjonaj, Graovac, Donk, Ben Ouanes; Fall, Tirpan, Eysseric, Hajradinovic, Celina; Bahoken

Sivasspor possible starting lineup:

Vural; Yesilyurt, Goutas, Osmanpasa, Erdal; Yalcin, Ulvestad, Saba; N'Jie, Yatabare, Gradel

We say: Kasimpasa 1-1 Sivasspor

Neither side showed any sort of great scoring form in the opening part of the season, and in such a close encounter, things could be cagey.

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