Adana Demirspor will look to continue their march up the Turkish Super Lig table when they take on Kayserispor at the Yeni Adana Stadyumu.
The pair will lock horns on Saturday morning, with mid-table Kayserispor hoping to stem the flow of European-chasing Adana Demirspor.
Match preview
Starting the weekend in fourth, Adana Demirspor have caught the imagination of the Super Lig, capitalising on various slip-ups from usual European challengers.
In stellar form, Adana Demirspor currently boast a six-game unbeaten streak across all competitions, while they have registered only one loss in their previous 11 outings.
The goals have flowed for Adana Demirspor, as they have netted two or more times in all but one of their last five matches, yet they have not always been able to keep them out at the opposite end.
Just two clean sheets in their last six fixtures has prevented Adana Demirspor from challenging further up the table, as they target European qualification in their maiden campaign back in the first tier.
Winners of the second division last term, Saturday's opponents Kayserispor will be hoping to halt Adana Demirspor's progression.
Unlike Adana Demirspor, Kayserispor are unlikely to challenge for the European berths this season, despite not having the threat of relegation looming over them.
Having won seven games, drawn six, lost seven, conceded 28 goals and scored a further 28, Kayserispor have epitomised mid-table form this season, and unsurprisingly sit 11th in the table.
Kayserispor will be keen to extend their own unbeaten record this weekend, that currently sits are five matches across all competitions, while they boast a three-game winning streak.
With their only top flight meeting this century coming earlier on in the current campaign, a repeat of August's 1-1 draw seems unlikely, given the trajectories that the pair have taken since.
The last time that this clash saw a winner came in the second tier eight years ago, when Kayserispor triumphed 2-1 away to Adana Demirspor.
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Team News
Adana Demirspor have benefited from positive luck with injuries at times this season, and will begin the weekend with close to a full squad.
Former Manchester City and Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli will not feature in this clash as he is currently isolating due to a Covid infection.
His seven goals this season have helped climb the table, with ex-Nottingham Forest man Britt Assombalonga the man likely to replace him in the side.
Elsewhere, Ivory Coast international Simon Deli will miss the majority of January due to participation in the Africa Cup of Nations.
For Kayserispor, they are not without problems of their own, with Ugur Demirok unable to feature due to a one-game suspension.
Mame Baba Thiam has joined up with the Senegalese international side to compete at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Dimitris Kolovetsios will miss the remainder of the season with an ACL injury.
Adana Demirspor possible starting lineup:
Muric; Svensson, Akaydin, Sanuc, Kanak; Inler, Stambouli; Akgun, Belhanda, Vargas; Assombalonga
Kayserispor possible starting lineup:
Lung; Bulut, Hosseini, Attamah, Carole; Bassan, Akdag, Uzodimma, Cardoso; Gavranovic, Pektemek
We say: Adana Demirspor 2-0 Kayserispor
Few would have expected Adana Demirspor to have enjoyed such a positive start to life in the Super Lig, but with half of the season already completed, they are well placed for a top-four finish.
Inconsistency has been the problem for Kayserispor this season and expect it to trouble them once more this weekend.
Top tip
Amos Murphy
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 Adana Demirspor win with a probability of 63.93%. A draw had a probability of 21% and a win for Kayserispor had a probability of 15.07%.
The most likely scoreline for an Adana Demirspor win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.07%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.82%) and 2-1 (9.79%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.99%), while for a Kayserispor win it was 0-1 (5.1%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 10% likelihood.
