For the second time in just a matter of days, Sivasspor will face off against Alanyaspor after the two sides met in midweek in the first leg of their Turkish Cup semi-final.
Sivasspor came out on top in that encounter, but the visitors will be looking to avenge the 2-1 cup defeat when they face off in the Super Lig on Monday.
Match preview
© Reuters
Sivasspor have under-performed in the league this season, with Monday's hosts currently in 13th place, but their Turkish Cup form has helped soften the blow of an underwhelming league campaign.
In the first leg of their semi-final clash with Alanyaspor, Riza Calimbay's side clinched an important 2-1 away victory in the most dramatic of fashion.
Emre Akbaba gave the hosts an early lead before Mustafa Yatabare equalised for Sivasspor, but Yatabare's evening was cut short when he was shown a second yellow card in the 59th minute.
Despite playing with 10 men, the visitors snatched the victory in stoppage time thanks to Kerem Kesgin's winner, ensuring that Sivasspor have now lost just one of their last six matches in all competitions.
Although Calimbay and his players will be focused on the second leg, which takes place in May, they will be looking to improve on the lowly position that they currently occupy in the Super Lig.
Unlike their hosts, Alanyaspor have a lot riding on the final five matches of the league campaign, with Monday's visitors two points adrift of the top four.
Their European push has shown signs of slowing in recent weeks though, with their last two league matches resulting in 4-1 and 3-1 defeats.
After losing a third consecutive game in midweek, Alanyaspor enter Monday's contest bereft of confidence, but they can take encouragement from their away form.
The visitors currently hold the third best away record in the Super Lig, while they have also won four of their previous six away matches.
Although they can be buoyed by their away results, Alanyaspor will need to improve defensively if they are to qualify for Europe, as only Caykur Rizespor and Goztepe have conceded more league goals than Francesco Farioli's side this season.
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Team News
Olarenwaju Kayode, who has scored six league goals this season, is expected to miss out for the hosts due to a muscle injury.
After coming off the bench to score the winner in midweek, Kesgin may return to the starting lineup for Monday's contest.
Yatabare will serve his suspension in the second leg of the Turkish Cup semi-final, so the 36-year-old is set to lead the line for the hosts.
As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon the services of Serkan Kirintili and Famara Diedhiou, who are struggling with muscles injuries.
Farioli could make a number of alterations to his side in a bid to freshen things up, with Chidozie Awaziem, Efkan Bekiroglu and Daniel Candeias candidates for starting berths.
Wilson Eduardo has started the last two games for Alanyaspor, and the 31-year-old will continue to lead the line on Monday.
Sivasspor possible starting lineup:
Vural; Oguz, Appindangoye, Osmanpasa, Erdal; Yesilyurt, Cofie, Ulvestad, Kesgin, Gradel; Yatabare
Alanyaspor possible starting lineup:
Marafona; Juanfran, Milunovic, Awaziem, Borja; Karaca, Bekiroglu, Novais, Akbaba, Candeias; Eduardo
We say: Sivasspor 1-2 Alanyaspor
Sivasspor have the upper hand over Alanyaspor this season, and we think that the hosts will claim a third victory of the campaign against the visitors, who are bereft of confidence after losing their last three matches.
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 Sivasspor win with a probability of 44.43%. A win for Alanyaspor had a probability of 30.73% and a draw had a probability of 24.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sivasspor win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.31%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.15%) and 2-0 (7.27%). The likeliest Alanyaspor win was 0-1 (7.5%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.71%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 9.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Sivasspor in this match.
