Adana Demirspor will host Caykur Rizespor at the New Adana Stadium on Saturday, aiming to secure their first points of the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig campaign.
The hosts suffered a 1-0 defeat to Fenerbahce in their opening match and will be eager to avoid a similar result in their first home game.
Match preview
© Imago
Adana had hoped for a strong start to the 2024-25 season but their campaign got off to a disappointing beginning, as they failed to register a single shot on target.
With the departure of top scorers M'Baye Niang (eight goals), Emre Akbaba, and Mario Balotelli (both seven), the team appears to be struggling to adapt to the changes.
New manager Michael Valkanis, who replaced Hikmet Karaman just over a month ago, will need to quickly address his side's attacking deficiencies, as evident in their opening game.
The Blue Lightnings, who narrowly avoided relegation last season, will be determined to avoid a repeat performance. However, they must find a way to score goals and secure victories to stay out of danger.
Having won their home fixture against Saturday's opponents last season, Adana will be confident of repeating the feat, as it will lift a lot of weight off Valkanis's soldiers.
However, Caykur Rizespor will be hoping to pile on their misery in a bid to stay unbeaten in their opening two matches of the 2024-25 Super Lig season.
The visitors enjoyed a remarkable first season back in the Turkish Super Lig, finishing ninth with 50 points, but their form towards the end of the campaign was a cause for concern, with six matches without a win.
Ilhan Palut's side will be aiming for an even better performance this season, and a 1-1 draw with Istanbul Basaksehir on the opening day was a mixed result.
Rizespor will be keen to improve on their away record from last season, when they managed only 12 points from 19 matches, the fourth-worst in the league.
Team News
Adana Demirspor go into matchday two with a clean bill of health, leaving the manager with a full squad available for their first home game.
After failing to trouble the opposition goalkeeper on the opening day, manager Valkanis could be considering changes to his attack, but Yusuf Barasi is expected to lead the line once again.
As for the visitors, Amir Hadziahmetovic could feature in this game after recovering from a cruciate ligament injury.
Centre-back Husniddin Aliqulov scored Rizespor's first goal of the season, but centre-forward Ali Sowe will be hoping to open his account in this match.
Adana Demirspor possible starting lineup:
Donmezer; Rodriguez, Guler, Gravillon; Manev, Mohammadi, Maestro, Aydogan; Michut, Barasi, Sari
Caykur Rizespor possible starting lineup:
Akkan; Sahin, Mocsi, Alikulov, Hojer; Akintola, Papanikolaou; Varesanovic, Olawoyin, Zeqiri; Sowe
We say: Adana Demirspor 1-1 Caykur Rizespor
Adana appear to be struggling with their attack since the departure of some key goalscorers last season, and this could again be a problem for them. However, Rizespor, have not shown enough in the new campaign to suggest they will be favourites here, which is why we are predicting a draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
