Konyaspor take on Gaziantep at the Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium on Friday evening, in the latest round of Turkish Super Lig fixtures.
After two games played, both sides are still looking for their first win of the season, with the hosts currently sitting in 12th place, while the visitors are down in 19th.
Match preview
Konyaspor have made a solid, if not spectacular start to the Turkish Super Lig season, having drawn their first two games against Istanbulspor and Antalyaspor.
It was a feisty encounter for the Anatolian Eagle at home against Istanbulspor on the opening day of the season, with Sokol Cikalleshi sealing a 1-1 draw for his side late on, at which point the hosts were down to 10 men and the visitors were down to nine.
However, if they are to compete in the top half of the table this season, as they did in the previous campaign, Aleksandar Stanojevic's side will need to beat sides like Istanbulspor, and they will also be disappointed they were unable to pick up three points last time out.
Away at Antalyaspor, Konyaspor were leading the game until the 87th minute, courtesy of Cikalleshi's second-half penalty, but Guray Vural struck a late equaliser to ensure the spoils were shared once again.
To look at things positively, the Anatolian Eagle are still yet to lose a game, but they are now set to face a side they have lost their last three matches against.
Indeed, Gaziantep have a very good recent record against Konyaspor, winning the last three matches between the two sides, two of which came at the Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium, in what were 1-0 victories.
However, GFK have not started the season the way they would have liked, failing to win a single game in pre-season before being defeated in their first two games, although they have been up against tough opposition.
On the opening day of the campaign, Erdal Gunes's side were 2-0 down within 20 minutes after an Edin Dzeko brace, but they performed well from that point onwards, admirably managing to pull the game back to 2-1, despite being reduced to 10 men after Alexandru Maxim's dismissal.
Last time out, on the other hand, Gaziantep were not as impressive, recording just two shots on the target at home against Sivasspor, who went on to win the game 3-1.
- D
- D
- L
- L
Team News
Konyaspor will be without Muhammet Demir, who has been missing since April with a knee problem, but there are no new injury issues for Stanojevic to deal with.
Centre-back Adil Demirbag was shown a straight red card on the opening day of the season, meaning he will miss out once again, with Ugurcan Yazgili set to keep his place in the side.
With two goals to his name already, Cikalleshi is the player to look out for in attack, with the 33-year-old set to lead the line in a 4-2-3-1 system.
As for Gaziantep, Alexandru Maxim is back available for selection, having served his one-match suspension, and the Romanian could replace 20-year-old Luka Stankovski in the attacking midfield role.
GFK also have just one injury absentee, with Ilker Karakas still out with a collarbone issue, so Mustafa Eskihellac, Max Gradel and Lazar Markovic are set to make up the front three.
Konyaspor possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Oguz, Yazgili, Calvo, Guilherme; Dikmen, Ulgun, Michalak, Malli, Moreno; Cikalleshi
Gaziantep possible starting lineup:
Sen; M'Bakata, Kizildag, Djilobodji, Khacef; Maxim, Jevtovic, Soyalp; Markovic, Gradel, Eskihellac
We say: Konyaspor 1-1 Gaziantep
Konyaspor have drawn their first two games this season, while Gaziantep have shown some promising signs, despite defeats against quality opposition in Fenerbahce and Sivasspor.
As such, we expect the two sides to be fairly evenly-matched, and despite Gaziantep's impressive recent record at the Konya Metropolitan Municipality Stadium, it is likely to be a draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Dominic Lund
