Sitting perilously close to the dotted line in the Turkish Super Lig standings, Giresunspor host Istanbul Basaksehir on Monday, at Necmi Kadioglu Stadium.

The home side are embroiled in a tight relegation battle with games running out to ensure safety, while their visitors still occupy fifth place despite a recent downturn.

Match preview

After boosting their survival chances with a crucial victory over Sivasspor last weekend, Giresunspor suffered a late collapse against Ankaragucu on Thursday evening and were cast back down into the Super Lig's bottom four.

Having led at half time, they conceded twice in the final 20 minutes to lose 3-1 in the capital, and a total of two shots and none on target - they were beneficiaries of a Lamine Diack own goal - tells the tale of their tame attacking efforts.

With two relegation spots remaining after the withdrawal of Hatayspor and Gaziantep from the division following February's earthquake, Giresunspor returned to action following on the back of a six-match winless run.

That wait for a win would be extended to 10 games before last week's overdue victory arrived, but the side coached by Hakan Keles are now seeking precious back-to-back home victories to ease the pressure heading into the Super Lig run-in.

Beaten 3-1 by Istanbul Basaksehir when the teams last met back in October, the Giresun club are in dire need of a better result this time out, with demotion to the 1. Lig still a distinct possibility.

That win for Monday's visitors came at a more prosperous point of the season from their perspective, as Basaksehir have now managed to win just one of their last eight games to drop off the pace in pursuit of European qualification.

Now 14 points adrift of third-placed rivals Besiktas, Emre Belozoglu's side followed last week's defeat to Istanbulspor with a loss at home to Fenerbahce on Wednesday, and it seems they are stumbling towards the end of their Super Lig campaign.

Even more dramatically than Giresunspor imploded, the 2020 Turkish champions blew up at the end of that latter contest, as they received two red cards - shown to Ahmed Touba and Omer Ali Sahiner - and conceded twice in the final few minutes to lose 2-1.

Basaksehir have also picked up just two points from their last five away games ahead of the trip east this week, so despite the disparity between them and their hosts in the standings, they may not approach the game full of confidence.

Team News

Istanbul Basaksehir will be without Ahmed Touba and Omer Ali Sahiner on Monday, following their dismissals against Fenerbahce in midweek, so Emre Belezoglu will be forced into a reshuffle in defence.

Sener Ozbayrakli and China international Wu Shaocong are therefore candidates to come into the back four.

The visitors' coach has himself been serving a suspension since being sent off in a recent Turkish Cup clash against Galatasaray, and he is also missing veteran forward Stefano Okaka again due to injury. In the Italian's absence, seven-goal top scorer Daniel Aleksic supports Joao Figueiredo up front.

Giresunspor, meanwhile, will welcome Borja Sainz back from a ban, and the winger should now return on the left flank; Brandley Kuwas could make way.

Again, the hosts' attack will be led by Bosnian striker Riad Bajic, who has scored 10 Super Lig goals so far this season.

Giresunspor possible starting lineup:
Kaplan; Bilazer, Perez, Arias, Genc; Campuzano, Mejia; Serginho, Akpinar, Sainz; Bajic

Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Sengezer; Ozbayrakli, Duarte, Wu, Lima; Biglia; Szysz, Ozcan, Gurler; Aleksic; Figueiredo

We say: Giresunspor 0-1 Istanbul Basaksehir

As Giresunspor tend to struggle in the final third, one goal could be enough for Basaksehir to take advantage of their hosts' woes on Monday and take all three points home to Istanbul.


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