Besiktas will be hoping to end a difficult year with a positive result when they head to Mersin Stadyumu to take on Hatayspor in the Super Lig on Monday evening.
The hosts are currently in 11th place in the league standings with 19 points after 16 matches, while the visitors have managed 26 points over the same period and are fifth.
Match preview
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After withdrawing from league competition last season, Hatayspor started the 2023-24 campaign very positively and were unbeaten after the first eight matches with three wins and five draws.
However, following the October international break, it has been a completely different story as they head into this match, having only won one of their last eight while drawing two and losing five.
The Falcons' most recent match saw them play out a 0-0 draw away to Ankaragucu, marking their fourth consecutive league match without a win and the second match failing to find the net.
Despite their dip in form, Volkan Demirel's side have maintained a good record at Mersin Stadyumu, losing only once of their seven home games this season, while their scoring form has been impressive, registering two or more goals in five of their last six.
While Hatayspor have never finished above Besiktas in the Super Lig standings, they have a very good record against the Black Eagles, unbeaten in their last three encounters, including a 2-1 win last season.
Meanwhile, Besiktas have been in all sorts of trouble on and off the pitch this season, falling way off the pace and already 17 points behind runaway league leaders Fenerbahce and Galatasaray before the midway point of the campaign.
The Black Eagles were beaten 3-1 by Alanyaspor last week, marking their sixth loss in the top flight, which is already more than they conceded across the whole of last season (four) and was also their third defeat in their last five in all competitions.
The only win Besiktas have managed since the start of December was against Lugano in the Conference League, though that was a dead-rubber match as they were already knocked out of the competition heading into the final matchday in the group stages.
Following that defeat to Alanyaspor, Riza Calimbay was sacked as head coach after a month in charge and for only seven matches in total, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer being rumoured as his potential replacement.
The visitors are in desperate need of a positive result to lift the mood around the camp, but Hatay will be right up for this one and will likely feel that they could not have chosen a better time to face the 2020-21 champions.
Team News
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Didier Lamkel Ze has missed the last six matches for Hatayspor with a muscle injury and is only expected to return in January, but Kamil Ahmet Corekci has been cleared fit to play and could make the squad after almost two months on the sideline.
Mehdi Boudjemaa (hamstring), Faouzi Ghoulam (knock) and Burak Yilmaz (muscle) have all been ruled out of this one due to injury.
In the midst of the turmoil behind the scenes at Besiktas, the club decided to banish five first-team players including Vincent Aboubakar, Valentin Rosier, Eric Bailly, Rachid Ghezzal and Jean Onana.
According to the club's statement, the reasoning for the decision was poor performance and incompatibility within the team; thus, none of them will be available for this match.
Aside from those exiled, Besiktas also have five injury absentees for this one, including Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Necip Uysal, Gedson Fernandes, Umut Meras and Emrecan Uzunhan.
Hatayspor possible starting lineup:
Kardesler; Alici, Kilama, Maksimovic, Aksoy; Saglam, Rivas, Aburjania, Dele-Bashiru, Strandberg; Dadashov
Besiktas possible starting lineup:
Gunok; Bulut, Amartey, Colley, Masuaku; Ucan, Hadziahmetovic, Rashica; Muleka, Tosun, Kilicsoy
We say: Hatayspor 2-2 Besiktas
Besiktas are in tatters at the moment and go into this match short-handed to face an opponent that are performing well on their home patch. Hatayspor are unbeaten in their last three matches against Besiktas and we fancy them to take something from this one as well.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
