Konyaspor will be looking to end their run of eight consecutive Super Lig games without a win when they play host to Kasimpasa at the Konya Buyuksehir Arena on Saturday.
The visitors, on the other hand, will head into the weekend looking to get one over the Anatolian Eagle, having failed to win any of their previous 11 encounters since November 2017.
Match preview
Konyaspor were one of the few active sides during the international break as they played out a somewhat disappointing 1-1 draw against Serik Belediyespor in a friendly fixture last Saturday.
Sefa Aksoy opened the scoring with a 25th-minute effort to put the second-tier outfit ahead at the Koyuncu Grup Kayacık Tesislerimiz, but Kahraman Demirtas found the target in the 81st minute to force a share of the spoils.
This was in keeping with their struggles in the Super Lig, where Konyaspor have failed to win any of their last eight matches, losing six and claiming two draws since a 1-0 victory at Istanbul Basaksehir on September 2.
The Anatolian Eagle's poor run has been owing to their struggles at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have conceded 16 goals in their last eight Super Lig matches while scoring six at the opposite end of the pitch in that time.
However, Konyaspor did progress through to the fourth round of the Turkish Cup with relative ease as they claimed a 3-0 victory over Erbaaspor on November 2 courtesy of second-half goals from Robert Muric, Emrehan Gedikli and Louka Prip.
Hakan Keles's men have picked up two wins, four draws and lost six of their 12 Super Lig matches so far to collect 10 points and sit 16th in the table, just above 17th-placed Alanyaspor in the relegation zone on goal difference.
Elsewhere, Kasimpasa were condemned to successive defeats for the first time this season as they were beaten 4-3 by Kayserispor at the Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadium just before the international break.
This followed a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Galatasaray on November 3, when former Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha scored in either half at Rams Park to fire Okan Buruk's men to a 10th league win on the bounce.
Kasimpsa's last victory came on October 31, when first-half goals from Yasin Ozcan, Claudio Winck and Selim Dilli inspired them to a 3-0 victory over Aksaray in the Turkish Cup fourth round.
Despite their recent drop-off in form, Kemal Ozdes's men are currently eight in the Super Lig standings, level on 18 points with seventh-placed Antalyaspor after 12 matches.
While Kasimpasa will be looking to find their feet this weekend, next up is an opposing side who they have failed to get the better of in each of their previous 11 meetings, losing five and claiming six draws since a 2-1 victory in November 2007.
Team News
Konyaspor will take to the pitch without veteran defender Guilherme Haubert, who missed the trip to Trabzonspor just before the international break after sustaining a thigh injury.
He is joined on the club's injury table by Turkish forward Muhammet Demir, who continues his lengthy journey to full fitness after suffering an ACL injury back in April.
With his goal against Kayserispor, Aytac Kara now has 10 goal involvements in 12 league matches this season and the Turkish midfielder should retain his role in the XI, teaming up with Haris Hajradinovic in the centre of the park.
Summer signing Nuno Da Costa opened his account for Kasimpasa in the aforementioned game and the former Nottingham Forest man could be rewarded with a place in the XI this weekend.
On the injury front, Ozdes will be unable to call upon the services of Samuel Bastien, who has missed each of the last four games after coming off injured against Fenerbahce on October 8.
Konyaspor possible starting lineup:
Bernardoni; Oguz, Demirbag, Calvo, Subasi; Dikmen, Yazgili; Muric, Cicaldau, Moreno; Cikalleshi
Kasimpasa possible starting lineup:
Gianniotis; Winck, Omeruo, Ciftpinar, Ozcan; Gul; Fall, Hajradinovic, Kara, Ouanes; Ngoy
We say: Konyaspor 1-1 Kasimpasa
After a bright start to the season, Konyaspor have struggled to get going in the Super Lig and will be looking to find their feet this weekend. Kasimpasa appear to have also run out of steam of late and we predict that both sides will cancel out each other's efforts.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
