Hatayspor will be aiming to move level on points with third-placed Istanbul Basaksehir in the Turkish Super Lig table when they visit the Giresun Ataturk Stadium to face Giresunspor on Saturday.
The hosts, meanwhile, will head into the game seeking to get one over the visitors after failing to claim a win in any of their last five meetings between the sides.
Match preview
Giresunspor failed to make it two wins from two last Tuesday when they fell to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of a rampant Istanbul Basaksehir side at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium.
After Deniz Turuc and Mamadou Diarra scored for either side to end the first half level, Junior Caicara netted in the 69th minute to put the hosts ahead before Edin Visca made sure of the result nine minutes later.
After an impressive run of four consecutive wins across all competitions between November 11 and December 5, Hakan Keles's men have seen their form dip in recent weeks, losing two of their last three games, conceding five goals and failing to keep a clean sheet in that time.
This slump in form has seen them drop out of the top half of the Super Lig standings as they now occupy 13th place, level on 22 points with 14th-placed Antalyaspor.
While Giresunspor will be looking to return to winning ways this weekend, next up is the daunting task of squaring off against an opposing side who they have failed to defeat in each of their last five encounters, losing three and picking up two draws since a 1-0 win back in 2013.
Like their hosts, Hatayspor continue to struggle for form as they were condemned to a humbling 3-1 defeat at the hands of Konyaspor at the Hatay Stadyumu last time out.
In a game where both sides saw red, after falling behind to Ayoub El Kaabi's third-minute opener, Konyaspor rallied and turned the game on its head courtesy of a brace from Paul-Jose Mpoku and Ahmed Hassan's 93rd-minute strike.
After a blistering start to the season, Hatayspor now appear to have fallen off the rails as they have lost all but one of their last five league outings, with a 2-1 win over Altay on December 10 being the only exception.
This has been owing to their recent frailties at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have conceded 13 goals in that time, with their luck at the opposite end of the pitch not any better as they managed just two goals.
For all their recent struggles, Hatayspor are currently sixth in the Super Lig table, tied on 29 points with Adana Demirspor and Fenerbahce, and could move level on points with third-placed Istanbul Basaksehir with a win this weekend.
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Team News
Giresunspor remains without the services of Turkish midfielder Erol Akdag, who is set to miss his fifth consecutive game after sustaining a knee injury in the game versus Ankara Demirspor on December 2.
Despite the defeat against Istanbul Basaksehir last time out, we expect Keles to name a similar side on Saturday, meaning we could see an attacking quartet of Serginho, Fousseni Diabate, Shapi Suleymanov and Ibrahima Balde.
At the back, Aziz Behich, Alexis Perez, Mamadou Diarra and Zeki Yavru should back up the four-man defensive wall shielding Galatasaray loanee Okan Kocuk in goal.
Meanwhile, Hatayspor's only concern on the injury front remains Mehdi Boudjemaa after the French midfielder picked up a muscle problem in November's game against Sivasspor.
Twenty-six-year-old defender Sam Adekugbe will play no part in the game as he serves his one-game suspension after receiving his marching orders versus Konyaspor last time out.
With 18 goal involvements in 17 games between them, Mame Biram Diouf and Saba Lobjanidze have been pivotal in the visitors' success so far and we expect them to lead the line once again.
Giresunspor possible starting lineup:
Kocuk; Yavru, Diarra, Perez, Behich; Flavio, Traore; Diabate, Suleymanov, Serginho; Balde
Hatayspor possible starting lineup:
Munir; Falette, Oksuz, Kurucuk; Lobjanidze, Ribeiro, Sackey, Corekci; Kaabi, Saint-Louis; Diouf
We say: Giresunspor 1-2 Hatayspor
Hatayspor appear to have fallen off the rails in recent weeks and have lost all but one of their last five league outings. However, they head into the game unbeaten in each of their last five games against the hosts and we are backing them to extend their dominance and end their losing streak on Saturday.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
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 Giresunspor win with a probability of 49.36%. A draw had a probability of 25.4% and a win for Hatayspor had a probability of 25.21%.
The most likely scoreline for a Giresunspor win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.7%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.38%) and 2-0 (9.09%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.08%), while for a Hatayspor win it was 0-1 (7.78%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 7.8% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted that Hatayspor would win this match.
