After seeing their seven-match unbeaten run in the Turkish Super Lig end, Samsunspor will hope to pick up the pieces when they welcome Alanyaspor to the Samsun 19 May Stadium on Sunday.
The Red Lightning are enjoying a great start to the campaign, and they will hope that the loss to Galatasaray is just another blip rather than the start of a downward spiral.
Match preview
Samsunspor held their own against the reigning champions and current league leaders Galatasaray, but they ultimately fell short, losing 3-2.
The Red Lightning went behind as early as the third minute when in-form Gala striker Victor Osimhen found the net, and they failed to find a response, trailing into the break.
Olivier Ntcham restored parity five minutes into the second half, but Samsunspor went behind five minutes later as Osimhen netted again before Michy Batshuayi scored a third for Gala, leaving Youssef Ait Bennasser's stoppage-time penalty a little too late for the Samsun-based side.
Thomas Reis's side dropped to third place in the Super Lig table following the defeat, having picked up 25 points after 12 matches, one point behind second-placed Fenerbahce and five behind table-topping Galatasaray who have both played one fewer game.
Samsunspor will be looking to quickly get back on track against Alanyaspor, a side they have beaten five times and lost to three times in nine previous encounters.
Alanyaspor failed to win for a fourth consecutive Super Lig game after settling for a goalless draw with Bodrumspor last time out, despite playing almost half an hour with a man advantage.
Fatih Tekke's side have endured a poor start to the season, picking up just two wins from 11 matches while losing five times and drawing four times, which has left them in 17th place with 10 points, two points away from safety.
Alanyaspor will remain on the road for another week, a situation that has not bode well for the visitors, as three of their five defeats have been in away matches.
To make matters worse for Tekke's team, the Alanya-based side are travelling to face a team they have never beaten on their ground despite playing them there four times.
Team News
Samsunspor will head into this clash without midfielder Bennasser, who is suspended after accumulating an unhealthy number of yellow cards.
Gaetan Laura is the most likely player to replace him in the starting XI, playing in a midfield that should also have Ntcham and Carlo Holse, who are the team's joint-top scorers in the league.
Alanyaspor have just one player absent for this clash, in the person of defender Furkan Bayir, who has an ankle injury expected to have him sidelined until December.
Serdar Dursun and Efecan Karaca started as the front two last time out, and are expected to retain their spots for this game.
Samsunspor possible starting lineup:
Kocuk; Yavru, Satka, Drongelen, Bola; Laura, Holse, Ntcham; Dimata, Kilinc; Mouandilmadji
Alanyaspor possible starting lineup:
Taskiran; Balkovec, Aliti, Aksoy, Hadergjonaj; Cordova, Makouta, Bulut, Lopes; Dursun, Karaca
We say: Samsunspor 3-1 Alanyaspor
Samsunspor lost to a superior team last time out, but their performance would have been good enough to win against most of the other sides in the league, and we believe they have enough to claim a victory against a struggling Alanyaspor.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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