This weekend's Turkish Super Lig action will get underway at Corendon Airlines Park, where Antalyaspor will be playing host to Alanyaspor on Friday afternoon.
Both these sides are in desperate need of a win here, with the visitors currently just four points above the drop zone, while the hosts are only two points ahead of them.
Match preview
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After finishing in the top half of the table last season, Antalyaspor have struggled to find consistency this term and have yet to win back-to-back league games with 27 matches already in the rearview mirror.
Ahead of the international break, the Scorpions suffered their second-biggest loss of the campaign, going down 4-0 to league leaders Galatasaray, with Victor Osimhen netting his first hat-trick since joining Cimbom at the start of the season.
That result also marked Emre Belozoglu's side's 12th defeat of the season, and they are now just one away from equalling the total number of losses they suffered across the entire 2023-24 campaign.
However, it should be noted that the side has performed better under the former Ankaragucu boss, having only lost three of nine games since his arrival in mid-January, two of which were against Fenerbahce and Gala.
Additionally, Belozoglu has yet to taste defeat at Corendon Airlines Park during his time in Antalya, having split his four home games two wins and two draws - the team now have a chance to go five home games unbeaten for the first time since between December 2023 and January 2024.
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Meanwhile, Alanyaspor have also endured a major drop-off this season, currently sat four points above the dotted line after finishing just four points behind the top six teams in eighth place last term.
Alanyaspor suffered a 2-1 loss to Kasimpasa before the international break - their third league defeat in a row and fifth in six matches - which saw the club opt to part ways with Sami Ugurlu after just 21 matches in charge.
Earlier this week, the club announced Joao Pereira as their new boss, and the Portuguese tactician will be tasked with keeping the side in the top flight with nine games left to play in the season.
While Pereira will be hoping to make a winning start to his tenure, doing so will not be easy, as his new side has lost four of their last five on the road and have only managed two away wins in 14 outings this season.
Team News
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Antalyaspor will have to make do without the services of Thalisson for this match due to suspension after the Brazilian defender crossed the yellow card threshold in the defeat to Gala before the international break.
The hosts also have several players sidelined through injury, including Erdogan Yesilyurt and Emre Uzun, who are out for the season, while Guray Vural (ankle) and Bahadir Ozturk (muscle) are only expected back next month.
Alanyaspor have just one confirmed absentee for this match in Buluthan Bulut, who sustained a cruciate ligament tear at the start of December and is unlikely to feature again for the remainder of the campaign.
Panathinaikos loanee Tonny Vilhena scored in his last two starts for the visitors and will almost certainly keep his place in the number 10 role behind Sergio Cordova and Gaius Makouta this weekend.
Antalyaspor possible starting lineup:
Piric; Balci, Sari, Gerxhaliu, Uzunhan; Rakip, Dikmen, Kaluzinski; Safuri, Larsson, Van de Streek
Alanyaspor possible starting lineup:
Taskiran; Aksoy, Lima, Aliti; Hadergjonaj, Richard, Keskin, Ozdemir; Vilhena; Makouta, Cordova
We say: Antalyaspor 2-1 Alanyaspor
While Alanyaspor will be hoping for a new manager bounce under Joao Pereira, their away record this season makes it difficult to get behind them with any real confidence.
The hosts won the reverse fixture 2-1 in October, which was their fourth league match unbeaten against this opponent, and we feel they will be able to extend that record with another three points in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
