Preview: Trabzonspor vs. Pendikspor - prediction, team news, lineups

Another defeat last weekend has left the 2022 Turkish champions a long way adrift of the top already after just six weeks of the season.

Match preview

Despite only Adana Demirspor scoring more than Trabzonspor so far this season, Nenad Bjelica's side have lost three of their opening six outings.

It was the most recent of those three losses which was the sorest though, throwing away a 2-0 lead to lose at Hatayspor last weekend.

Trabzonspor led with 88 minutes on the clock but inexplicably still fell to defeat.

The most disappointing thing about the defeat was that it came after such a fantastic result the week prior, when Bjelica led his side to a 3-0 win over Besiktas.

One positive they may have taken from the loss last weekend was that Edin Visca scored in a second consecutive match.

The Bosnian attacker, even at 33, still has the potential to be the best player in the league, a title he held for almost half a decade with Istanbul Basaksehir.

Keeping him fully fit could be crucial in them rising back into the European places, after his nightmare campaign with injuries last season was one of the main reasons why the club missed out on qualifying for continental competition.

Trabzonspor will face a newly-promoted side at home for the second time this season in this encounter, and they will hope it goes better than the visit of Rizespor in August, as they were stunned with another 3-2 defeat.

That was just their third home defeat of the year, but all three have come when they were heavy favourites to win, as a 4-3 defeat to Kayserispor and 2-1 loss against Umraniyespor were both hugely surprising.

Pendikspor have had a thrilling start to their debut top-flight campaign, even though they are still yet to win this season.

Late drama has been commonplace, for better and for worse, since a 5-1 home thrashing at the hands of Hatayspor on the opening day.

The following week, Pendikspor earned a remarkable point away at Besiktas, thanks to an injury-time penalty from Oscar Romero.

Osman Ozkoylu's side enjoyed more injury-time success against Alanyaspor too, scoring a 93rd-minute equaliser after going behind with just two minutes left of the 90.

However, Pendikspor were given a taste of their own medicine at the weekend when they hosted Fatih Karagumruk, as Valentin Eysseric's stoppage-time strike denied them a first-ever top-flight win.

Instead, it condemned them to a fourth 1-1 draw in their opening six matches, which leaves them just one place and one point above the relegation zone.

Trabzonspor Turkish Super Lig form:

W

L

L

W

W

L

Pendikspor Turkish Super Lig form:

L

D

D

D

L

D

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Team News

Trabzonspor will be without defensive pairing Huseyin Turkmen and Joaquin Fernandez for the next few weeks, with the latter still yet to make his debut for the club.

An ankle injury suffered on international duty with Greece earlier this month will also keep Dimitrios Kourbelis out until mid-October.

An ACL injury picked up just weeks after joining the club will keep Mislav Orsic out until March at the earliest, while fellow former Premier League winger Nicolas Pepe is also doubtful with a muscle issue.

Pendikspor's recent attacking recruits Emeka Eze (ankle) and Ahmed Hassan (knee) are both sidelined for the visitors currently.

Their statement signing over the summer, Romero from Boca Juniors, has paid off so far, as the Paraguayan has scored three goals already.

All three have been from the penalty spot, but they have been key in Pendikspor picking up the points that currently keep them out of the drop zone.

Trabzonspor possible starting lineup:

Ugurcan; Aydin, Baniya, Benkovic, Elmali; Mendy, Omur, Bakasetas; Visca, Onuachu, Bardhi

Pendikspor possible starting lineup:

Canpolat; Asan, Vukovic, Welinton, Nuno Sequeira; Sulungoz, Midtsjo, Cekici, Romero, Lusamba; Thuram

We say: Trabzonspor 4-1 Pendikspor

In a first-ever meeting between these two sides, Trabzonspor come into it as heavy favourites despite an underwhelming start which has included some surprise defeats.

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