Sivasspor and Hatayspor are separated by five places in the Turkish Super Lig table heading into Sunday's clash at Yeni Sivas 4 Eylul Stadyumu.
With neither side pulling up trees before the recent international break, they hope for a change in fortunes as the competition resumes this weekend.
Match preview
© Imago
Sivasspor's 3-1 defeat at the hands of Goztepe before the hiatus was the team's second on the trot and third match without success, leaving them three points clear of the bottom four places.
Bulent Uygun's men have secured one league triumph in their last six Super Lig fixtures, having started the 2024-25 campaign notching four points from six.
The out-of-form Yigidos seek their first victory in four league fixtures, aiming to claim their second triumph on home soil this term.
Having been defeated in two of their previous three fixtures in front of their supporters — falling to Eyupspor (1-0) and Istanbul Basaksehir (2-1) — the Sivas-based outfit hope to change the tide and find much-needed consistency to avoid being sucked into a relegation battle.
For a side that ended last season seventh, Sivasspor already proved they can be consistent throughout a league season and hope to rediscover their form sooner rather than later.
© Imago
Despite winning one match at the 4 Eylul Stadium this term, Uygun's team are favourites to beat a club that have gone winless entering this weekend's fixture, notching three points.
Although none of those points has come in a victory, Riza Calimbay's men hope to build on recent draws at Alanyaspor (0-0) and Trabzonspor (1-1), having lost three of the previous four.
However, Star of the South's goalscoring bugbear could undermine their desire to get an encouraging result against this weekend's hosts, underscored by the team scoring just five times.
That figure is a joint-low in the competition, level with 15th-placed Rizespor, albeit with the latter playing one more fixture.
Further highlighting the second-bottom side's challenges are their dreadful results away from home, with a 1-0 success at Adana Demirspor Hatayspor's only road win in 2024 pointing to disappointment at Sivasspor.
Team News
© Imago
Sivasspor are anticipated to have Emrah Bassan, Rey Manaj, Emre Gokay, Mehmet Albayrak and Eymen Yurdcu missing on Sunday, with the latter pair out due to knee injuries.
Fode Koita is anticipated to start due to Manaj's tendon rupture, while Queensy Menig is pushing for a start after notching two goals off the bench against Basaksehir in late September and in the loss to Goztepe before the hiatus.
The second-bottom visitors have a healthier squad, as evidenced by two reported absences — Chandrel Massanga and Abdulkadir Parmak.
Hatayspor's joint-top scorer Joelson Fernandes could return to the XI with Rigoberto Rivas potentially dropping to the bench.
Sivasspor possible starting lineup:
Vural; Sundberg, Radakovic, Camara; Paluli, Moutoussamy, Charisis, Ciftci; Rodrigues, Koita, Balde
Hatayspor possible starting lineup:
Kardesler; Corekci, Kilama, Calvo, Sertel; Diack, Saglam; Bamgboye, Pedro, Fernandes; Aboubakar
We say: Sivasspor 2-0 Hatayspor
Although results have been mixed, Sivasspor will welcome facing an opponent with just one road win in the calendar year.
Thus, Uygun's men are anticipated to record their second triumph in front of their fans and extend their three-match undefeated run against Star of the South to four.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
