Seeking to pick up a third consecutive victory, Adana Demirspor welcome Yeni Malatyaspor to the Adana 5 Ocak Stadium in round nine of the Super Lig on Saturday.
The visitors, on the other hand, head into the game on a run of five consecutive defeats and will be looking to end this horrid spell.
Match preview
Newly-promoted Adana Demirspor appear to be settling nicely in the big leagues as they continued their surge into the top half of the table courtesy of a 2-1 victory over Antalyaspor when the sides squared off at the Antalya Stadium on October 1.
After Mario Balotelli netted on the stroke of half time, Bunyamin Balci restored parity in the 59th minute before Espanyol loanee Matias Vargas scored with 11 minutes remaining on the clock to hand the Mavi Simsekler all three points.
Following a rough start to the season which saw them pick up two points from their opening four games, Vincenzo Montella will be impressed by his side's turnaround in recent weeks.
Adana Demirspor head into this weekend's encounter on a four-game unbeaten run, picking up three wins and playing out a thrilling 3-3 draw with title-chasing Besiktas in that time.
This upsurge in form has been owing to their impressive display at the attacking end of the pitch, where they have netted 12 goals in their last four games, including four in their dominating victory over Gaziantep on September 25.
With 12 points from eight games, Adana Demirspor are currently 10th in the Super Lig table and could rise as high as fifth with a win this weekend.
However, they face the stern test of taking on an opposing side who they have failed to defeat in four of their last five attempts, picking up three draws and losing one.
Yeni Malatyaspor, on the other hand, were left empty-handed once again when they fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Hatayspor last time out.
Despite being on the front foot for most of the game, the Tigers of the East lacked sting at the attacking end of the pitch as Ayoub El Kaabi and Mohammed Kesselly Kamara scored in either half to hand the visitors all three points.
Irfan Buz's men, who are currently 17th on the log, have now failed to pick up a point since closing August with successive wins over Goztepe and Gaziantep — a run which has seen them lose five games on the trot.
While they have also struggled to get going in attack, this dire run has been down to their defensive frailties as they boast the league's second-worst defensive record with 16 goals conceded.
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Team News
Adana Demirspor will take to the pitch without the services of veteran forward Gokhan Inler, who has missed the last two games through injury.
Babajide David Akintola is also out of contention for this weekend's encounter after the Nigerian midfielder came off with a groin injury against Kayserispor back in August.
Ivory Coast defender Simon Deli is a major doubt for the hosts after he was hauled off with a 34th-minute injury against Antalyaspor last time out.
In his absence, Turkish defender Kaan Kanak could come in for his fifth starting appearance of the season and pair up with fellow countryman Samet Akaydin at the heart of the defence.
Meanwhile, on the back of his side's disappointing display against Hatayspor last time out, Buz could make wholesale changes to his starting XI.
However, the 54-year-old will be unable to call upon veteran forward Adem Buyuk, who picked up a muscle problem in September's game against Antalyaspor.
Adana Demirspor possible starting lineup:
Kaplan; Rassoul, Kanak, Akaydin, Svensson; Stambouli, Kurt; Vargas, Bjarnason, Akgun; Balotelli
Yeni Malatyaspor possible starting lineup:
Damlu; Sankaya, Wallace, Ciftpinar; Haddadi, Chouiar, Aabid, Ndong, Eskihellac; Tetteh, Buyuk
We say: Adana Demirspor 2-0 Yeni Malatyaspor
While Yeni Malatyaspor will be looking to get their season back on track following their horror spell in recent weeks, they go up against an Adana Demirspor side who have hit their stride lately.
We predict the hosts will take advantage of the visitors' defensive frailties and grab their third consecutive win.
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 Adana Demirspor win with a probability of 52.42%. A draw had a probability of 24.5% and a win for Yeni Malatyaspor had a probability of 23.09%.
The most likely scoreline for an Adana Demirspor win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.54%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.62%) and 2-0 (9.54%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.64%), while for a Yeni Malatyaspor win it was 0-1 (7.05%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 3.6% likelihood.
