Istanbulspor will aim to enhance their chances of Super Lig survival when they host Kayserispor on Sunday, with the relegation strugglers sitting second from bottom and three points from safety in the table.
Meanwhile, Kayserispor find themselves in eighth place – 11 points clear of Istanbulspor – although Cagdas Atan's side head into Sunday's clash on a poor run of form, having lost five of their previous six league outings.
Match preview
It would not be unfair to say that Istanbulspor have struggled to adapt to the demands of top-flight football following their promotion from the second tier via the playoffs last year.
Indeed, the Istanbul club have lost 12 of their 19 Super Lig games this season – picking up four wins and three draws along the way – and they possess the worst defensive record in the division, having conceded 40 goals.
Istanbulspor suffered 10 defeats across their first 14 outings this term, enduring a damaging seven-game losing streak between October and December, but they have started to show glimpses of promise under Fatih Tekke.
Having avoided defeat in three of their past five encounters, Istanbulspor have given themselves a genuine chance of escaping the relegation zone, with recent victories over Kasimpasa and Umraniyespor galvanising the club.
That said, Tekke's side suffered a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Adana Demirspor earlier this month before losing 4-0 to Trabzonspor last time out, so they still have plenty of work to do if they want to avoid the drop.
By contrast, Kayserispor made a strong start to the campaign – recording seven wins, two draws and four losses in their opening 13 Super Lig matches – but they have taken a discernible turn for the worse since then.
Following a five-game unbeaten streak across October and November, the Anatolian Star head into Sunday's clash on a run of five defeats in six league games, having conceded at least two goals in each of those losses.
After registering four successive defeats, the Kayseri outfit stemmed the tide with an impressive 4-1 victory over Sivasspor, but they swiftly returned to losing ways last time out, suffering a 2-0 home defeat to Besiktas.
It is worth noting that Kayserispor booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Turkish Cup with a 2-0 win against Antalyaspor last week, although the celebrations soon ended when Besiktas inflicted yet another league defeat on Atan's side.
Sitting eight points outside the bottom four in the Turkish Super Lig table, Kayserispor are not in immediate danger of relegation, but they will need to up their game in order to remain clear of the drop zone.
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Team News
Istanbulspor will hope to welcome back Eslem Ozturk on Sunday, as the midfielder was named on the bench last time out following a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to an ACL injury.
There are also question marks over the fitness of Denis Kovacevic, Kagan Bagis, Demeaco Duahney and Duhan Aksu, meaning Tekke may be forced to shuffle his pack this weekend.
Istanbulspor's top scorer Valon Ethemi has bagged seven goals and three assists in 18 league games this season, so he will continue to support on-loan striker Emeka Eze in attack.
As for Kayserispor, they are still without long-term absentee Nurettin Korkmaz, while Mario Gavranovic and Mame Thiam will also miss Sunday's clash due to injury.
No Kayserispor player has scored more Super Lig goals than Gavranovic's five this season, so the likes of Bernard Mensah and Miguel Cardoso will be expected to step up this weekend.
Istanbulspor possible starting lineup:
Jensen; Berber, Erdogan, Yesil, Yasar; Ba; Topalli, Sarikaya, Rroca, Ethemi; Eze
Kayserispor possible starting lineup:
Gonen; Bulut, Hosseini, Kolovetsios, Carole; Kemen, Campanharo; Cardoso, Mensah, Mane; Sazdagi
We say: Istanbulspor 1-1 Kayserispor
This game provides Kayserispor with the ideal chance to stop the rot, although the visitors could struggle to claim all three points against Istanbulspor, who have collected a number of positive results in recent weeks.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Morris
