Seeking to pick up their first away win this season, Adana Demirspor journey to the Tupras Stadium to take on Besiktas in round 22 of the Turkish Super Lig on Tuesday.
The Black Eagles were on the receiving end of a 4-2 defeat when both sides locked horns in September's reverse fixture and will head into the midweek tie looking to exact revenge against the visitors.
Match preview
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Besiktas suffered their first away defeat of the year last Saturday as they were hammered 4-0 by Pendikspor when the sides squared off in an all-Istanbul affair at the Pendik Stadium.
Pendikspor had four different players on the scoresheet in a tremendous attacking display as Mehmet Umut Nayir, Halil Akbunar, Mame Thiam and Nuno Sequeira hit the target to hand the visitors their heaviest league defeat this season.
Prior to that, Besiktas were on a three-match winning streak — scoring 11 goals and keeping three clean sheets — a run which saw them ease through the fifth round of the Turkish Cup courtesy of a 4-0 victory over second-tier Eyupspor on January 16.
The Black Eagles now return home, where they have struggled to grind out results in recent weeks, losing three of their last four league matches since the start of December.
Coupled with their lack of consistency, Besiktas' defensive vulnerability has been a major factor behind their underwhelming campaign as they sit fourth in the Super Lig table, 19 points adrift of rivals Fenerbahce at the top of the pile.
Fernando Santos's men have shipped 30 goals in their 21 league matches so far — the second-highest number of goals conceded amongst the sides in the top half of the table and just six less than their total tally in the 2022-23 campaign (35).
However, Besiktas will be backing themselves to bounce back on Tuesday as they go up against a floundering Adana Demirspor side who are yet to taste victory since the turn of the year, losing twice and picking up three draws in their five matches.
Ankaragucu's midfielder Pedrinho found the back of the net three minutes after the hour mark to cancel out Emre Akbaba's 52nd-minute opener and hold Demirspor to a 1-1 draw at the New Adana Stadium on Saturday.
This followed a shock penalty-shootout defeat at the hands of TFF Second League outfit Anagold 24 Erzincanspor on January 17 which saw their Turkish Cup campaign come to an end.
Following the draw against Ankaragucu at the weekend, Demirspor have now failed to win 10 of their last 11 Super Lig matches, losing three and picking up seven draws since the start of November.
For all their recent struggles, the Blue Lightnings remain in the European qualification picture as they sit sixth in the league table, level on 30 points with seventh-placed Antalyaspor.
While Demirspor will be looking to find their feet this weekend, results on the road offer little optimism as they are one of just two sides yet to taste victory away from home in the Super Lig this term.
Team News
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Besiktas remain without a plethora of players down the spine of the teams as the likes of Daniel Amartey (Ghana), Omar Colley (Gambia) and Arthur Masuaku (Congo DR) are currently away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
On the injury front, Santos will be unable to call upon the services of veteran striker Vincent Aboubakar and Amir Hadziahmetovic, who have been ruled out through muscle and knee injuries respectively.
Turkish midfielder Emrecan Uzunhan is also recuperating from an ACL injury, while former Liverpool man Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been sidelined since December through a thigh problem.
Meanwhile, Demirspor have to make do without 33-year-old striker Mario Balotelli, who has missed each of the last 10 matches since sustaining a knee injury in November.
He is joined in the Blue Lightnings' injury table by Turkish forward Yusuf Sari, who has been sidelined since coming off injured against Istanbul Basaksehir on January 6.
Besiktas possible starting lineup:
Gunok; Bulut, Sanuc, Bingol, Meras; Tiknaz; Rashica, Zaynutdinov, Fernandes, Kilicsoy; Tosun
Adana Demirspor possible starting lineup:
Mahammadaliyev; Tokoz, Guler, Cisse, Dursun; Gravillon, Michut; David, Stambouli, Erdogan; Akbaba
We say: Besiktas 2-0 Adana Demirspor
Off the back of a humiliating derby defeat, Besiktas will head into the midweek clash looking to return to winning ways and restore some pride. Demirspor have been shocking on the road this season and we fancy Santos' side to come away with maximum points in front of their home supporters.
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