Samsunspor will look to end their three-month winless drought in the 2023-24 Super Lig season when they take on Hatayspor at Samsun 19 Mayis Stadyumu on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts suffered another defeat last weekend when they lost 2-0 away to Ankaragucu, while Hatayspor booked their place in the next round of the Turkish Cup with a 2-0 home win over Sariyer on Tuesday.
Match preview
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Samsunspor had another disappointing weekend, suffering their seventh defeat in their last eight games as they lost against Ankaragucu on Sunday, which was also the second defeat for newly-appointed head coach Markus Gisdol.
The fresh defeat leaves them bottom of the Super Lig table with just two points from their opening nine games, having only managed a draw against Sivasspor on the first matchday of the season and then having to wait more than two months to earn another draw against Istanbul Basaksehir just under a fortnight ago.
They are currently winless in 10 games in all competitions and have not scored in their last three Super Lig matches, making them the worst offensive team in the league with only five goals scored.
Prior to the 1-1 draw against Istanbul Basaksehir, the team had lost three home games in a row, suggesting that the home support is not helping the team play any better on home soil.
Hatayspor, on the other hand, are eighth in the table with 14 points and are only two wins away from the European places should the teams ahead of them drop points.
The position in the table could have been even better if Volkan Demirel's team had not suffered two defeats in a row in recent weeks – a 4-2 away loss to Fenerbahce and a 2-1 home defeat to Kayserispor.
Before the last two defeats, Hatayspor had been unbeaten for eight games and had achieved three wins and five draws in that time.
In the last four away games, there have been three goalless draws and one defeat to Fenerbahce, with the only win coming in the first matchday of the Super Lig against Pendikspor.
Team News
Samsunspor will go into this weekend's match with an almost fully-fit squad, as only midfielder Taylan Antalyali is currently out with a muscle injury; he is expected to make a full recovery by mid-November.
Otherwise, Gisdol will field the usual 4-2-3-1 formation, with Carlo Holse, Emre Kilinc and Ercan Kara trying to serve lone striker Marius Mouandilmadji.
The visitors are in an even better position ahead of Saturday's game and will go into the match with an injury-free squad.
There could be some changes in the starting XI, however, as Hatayspor had a cup match during the week, where some players were spared after the league match two weeks ago against Fenerbahce.
Carlos Strandberg and Oluwafisayo Dele-Bashiru are Hatayspor's standout players, having scored four times each so far this Super Lig season.
Samsunspor possible starting lineup:
Kocuk; Yavru, Satka, Van Drongelen, Gonul; Tait, Bennasser, Kilins, Kara, Holse; Mouandilmadji
Hatayspor possible starting lineup:
Kardesler; Rivas, Marcelin-Kilama, Bekaroglu, Ghoulam; Massanga, Aburjania, Strandberg, Lemkel Ze, Dele-Bashiru; Dadasov
We say: Samsunspor 0-2 Hatayspor
Samsunspor show no signs of picking up any momentum even after the appointment of Gisdol, so there is little to no argument to believe they could turn things around this weekend.
Hatayspor, on the other hand, have the perfect opportunity to end their two-game losing streak in the league against the worst team in the division.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
