Adana Demirspor host Sivasspor in a battle of two mid table teams in the Turkish Super Lig at the New Adana Stadium on Saturday evening.
The hosts are in ninth place while the visitors are 10th, with two points separating both teams heading into this match.
Match preview
After an 11-game winless run across all competitions, which included 10 league matches and a Turkish Cup defeat by third-tier 24 Erzincanspor, Adana Demirspor finally secured their first win against Fatih Karagumruk.
However, the Blue Lightnings could not build on that as they had to salvage a 2-2 draw against Konyaspor last time out.
Yusuf Erdogan and Mario Balotelli scored to restore parity twice for Adana after Sokol Cikalleshi had given Konyaspor the lead both times from the penalty spot.
Hikmet Karaman's side are six points above the first team in the bottom four and another poor run could see them in real danger of relegation battle.
Adana are back at home where they have picked up close to 80% of their points and recorded all their league victories this season.
The Blue Lightnings will head into this game looking to keep up their recent run over Saturday's opposition, having not lost in their last three meetings against them, winning twice and drawing once.
Sivasspor saw their six-game unbeaten streak in the league come to an end after losing 2-1 to Alanyaspor last time out.
Ahmed Mahgoub gave Alanyaspor the lead four minutes into the second half, but Rey Manaj restored parity for Sivasspor in the 64th minute before Oguz Aydin scored the winner in the 79th minute.
Despite the defeat, the Braves remain ninth in the table with 38 points, eight points off the last European spot.
The Braves will look to quickly bounce back this weekend when they return on the road where they have drawn their last three matches.
Team News
Adana will be without Balotelli as he serves a one-match suspension for accumulated yellow cards.
Nabil Alioui is also sidelined due to physical discomfort, while Emre Akbaba should spearhead the attack once again.
Jose Rodriguez and Maestro will play in midfield, protecting the defence and initiating attacks.
Sivasspor will be without their in-form striker Manaj due to accumulated yellow cards, leaving room for Clinton Njie to play from the start.
Bartug Elmaz is sidelined with a muscle injury, while Burak Kapacak and Emre Gokay will have to shrug off muscle injuries for a chance to feature this weekend.
Adana Demirspor possible starting lineup:
Mahammadaliyev; Atal, Gravillon, Cokcalis, Mohammadi; Rodriguez, Maestro; Mendoza, Michut, Erdogan; Akbaba
Sivasspor possible starting lineup:
Vural; Ciftci, Appindangoye, Osmanpasa, Paluli; Charisis, Caktas, Turgunboev; N'jie, Bassan, Koita
We say: Adana Demirspor 1-1 Sivasspor
Adana Demirspor and Sivasspor are both having inconsistent seasons and could not be separated in the reverse fixture. A draw is also very likely in Sunday's clash, but we expect both teams to find the net.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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