Ankaragucu will look to put a disappointing start in the Super Lig behind them when they welcome Adana Demirspor to the Turkish capital on Monday.

The visitors enter the fixture on the back of progressing to the playoffs of the Europa Conference League in Croatia on Thursday.

Match preview

Only once before - in the Turkish Cup in 2003 - have Ankaragucu beaten Adana Demirspor.

Since then, six encounters have produced one draw and five defeats for the club from the capital.

Their first ever meetings in the top flight came just last season, and Demirspor swept their opponents aside twice by a combined score of 5-2.

This fixture took place on the final day of the 2022-23 season, with a 2-1 win for the visitors meaning they ended the campaign 27 points ahead of Ankaragucu.

Following that defeat, Ankaragucu have started the new season with another, going down to Kasimpasa last weekend.

Their trip to Istanbul was eventful if anything, being 2-0 down with 20 minutes to play, fighting back to 2-2 with two quick-fire goals, before Mortadha Ben Ouanes stole all three points for Kasimpasa with a 93rd-minute strike.

Familiar surroundings may not bring much comfort for Ankaragucu either, considering they failed to win any of their final five home games last season, as they finished just two points above the drop zone.

For Adana Demirspor, it will be a tough ask for them to replicate last season's heroics as the club qualified for Europe for the first time in their 83-year history.

A fourth-place finish saw Demirspor finish above recent Turkish champions Istanbul Basaksehir and Trabzonspor.

Despite their European distractions so far throughout the summer, Patrick Kluivert's men saw off newly-promoted Caykur Rizespor on the opening day.

They were pegged back on 87 minutes by their visitors, but Yusuf Erdogan's goal in stoppage time sealed a 2-1 win for Demirspor after they held out for 17 minutes of additional time.

Kluivert replaced fellow former striker Vincenzo Montella in the summer, and after the Italian got them into Europe, the current manager has guided them through qualifiers very well so far.

After beating Romanian side CFR Cluj with 10 men in the second qualifying round, Osijek of Croatia were seen off thanks mainly to a 5-1 thrashing in the first leg.

With just one round remaining in the qualifiers, Genk are now the only side stopping them from reaching a European group stage for the first time.

Team News

Renaldo Cephas made his Ankaragucu debut off the bench last week and found the net within just eight minutes to find the equaliser.

Fellow attacking addition Riad Bajic has yet to get on the pitch though, arriving following a 14-goal season with relegated Giresunspor last season.

Mert Cetin could feature against the side he made 10 appearances for on loan earlier this year.

Three recent arrivals made their full debuts for the club last week, including Bundesliga stalwarts Rafal Gikiewicz and Tolga Cigerci, as well as goalscorer Efkan Bekiroglu.

David Akintola replacing Portugal legend Nani was the only outfield change for the European tie in midweek for Adana Demirspor, as Kluivert took no chances, naming a strong team despite their 5-1 advantage.

Backup keeper Goran Karacic has played four games already thanks to their European escapades.

First-choice Ertac Ozbir came in for their league opener against Rizespor though, and should return to the side again.

Ankaragucu possible starting lineup:
Gikiewicz; Radakovic, Cankaya, Mujakic; Kitsiou, Cigerci, Dokanovic, Hanousek; Beridze, Sowe, Bekiroglu

Adana Demirspor possible starting lineup:
Ozbir; Svensson, Gravillon, Guler, Kevin Rodrigues; Stambouli, Akbaba, Belhanda; Sari, Ndiaye, Nani

We say: Ankaragucu 1-3 Adana Demirspor

Demirspor have looked impressive under Kluivert and have dealt with juggling two competitions early on in the campaign very well.

Ankaragucu were a level below their visitors last season, and an opening day defeat suggests they may struggle again.


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