Still without a win, on a five-match losing streak, and stuck to the bottom of the Turkish Super Lig, Adana Demirspor will host Besiktas at the New Adana Stadium on Monday, hoping to find an inspiration that will help turn their season around.
Meanwhile, the visitors head into this clash having successfully ended a five-match winless streak with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Fenerbahce last Saturday.
Match preview
Adana Demirspor are desperately in search of a spark that could ignite their campaign, having already gone through three managers this season.
The Blue Lightnings have drawn two and lost 12 of their 14 matches so far, while they have conceded 34 goals, more than any other team in the league, and scored just 10, which is fewer than any other side.
Adana's latest setback came against Goztepe last Saturday, with Abat Aymbetov's 88th-minute goal serving as nothing but a consolation in a 3-1 defeat, despite playing over 14 minutes with a man advantage.
Things are not looking to get easier for Mustafa Dalci's side who take on a top-five team in the league in their next match, but the Blue Lightnings can look to inspiration from their last home game against Besiktas which they won 4-2.
However, the hosts have not won any of their last 11 matches on home soil in the Super Lig, losing the last 10 dating back to the previous campaign.
Besiktas appeared to have successfully emerged from their rough patch, having won their last league game against Fenerbahce, thanks to a 73rd-minute goal from former Arsenal and Liverpool winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
However, the Black Eagles were brought back down to earth on Thursday, losing 2-1 against Norwegian club Bodo/Glimt in an Europa League clash.
The Istanbul-based side fired former Dutch defender Giovanni van Bronckhorst from the managerial role on November 30 following their poor run between October and November, leaving Serdar Topraktepe in charge as interim manager.
Topraktepe, who has been in charge for the last three matches, will hope to help his side end a four-match winless run on the road across all competitions when they take to the pitch on Sunday.
A win will help the Black Eagles return to the top four, with their current 25 points from 14 matches leaving them fifth in the standings, one point behind fourth-placed Eyupspor who have played two extra games as of the time of writing this.
Team News
Dalci can tinker with his side as much as he likes, with no injuries or suspension problems for Adana heading into this clash.
Aymbetov's goal against Goztepe ended a run of four matches without a goal for the hosts, and this could have helped him play himself into the starting lineup in a side desperate for some attacking inspiration.
Izzet Celik is the player that could lose his spot if Aymbetov starts, with Yusuf Barasi likely to retain his spot as the focal point of the attack.
Besiktas will remain without two of their defenders, with Gabriel Paulista out with a hamstring issue, and Felix Uduokhai sidelined with an ankle injury.
Midfielder Necip Uysal is also confirmed out with a ligament injury that is expected to keep him out for the most part of the campaign.
Gedson Fernandes is suspended having reached the yellow card threshold, leaving Cher Ndour with an opportunity to play from the start.
Adana Demirspor possible starting lineup:
Donmezer; Kurtulan, Burak, Kalender, Manev; Maestro, Aydogan; Kol, Aymbetov, Sari; Barasi
Besiktas possible starting lineup:
Gunok; Svensson, Topcu, Sanuc, Masuaku; Ucan, Ndour; Kilicsoy, Silva, Rashica; Immobile
We say: Adana Demirspor 1-2 Besiktas
Besiktas are still finding their feet under the new manager, but we believe that the visitors have enough quality to overcome a team like Adana who have lacked ideas since the start of the campaign, which is why we are predicting a win for the hosts.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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