Bottom-of-the-table Samsunspor welcome fellow strugglers Istanbul Basaksehir to the 19 Mayis Stadyumu for a Super Lig clash on Sunday.

With two of the most feeble attacks in the division, the sides enter the matchday both inside the bottom six.

Match preview

Samsunspor's predicament looks a little more treacherous, even in these early stages of the campaign, as six defeats in a row leave them at the foot of the table.

That poor start was enough for the Samsunspor board to pull the trigger and fire head coach Huseyin Eroglu, the man who guided them into the top flight last season.

Eroglu was only able to conjure one point before getting the sack, and that came on the opening day against Sivasspor.

A loss at newly-promoted Rizespor in their final game before the international break after the sacking of Eroglu was arguably their worst results of the season so far though.

Despite playing against 10 men for 78 minutes, Samsunspor barely ever looked like scoring and inexplicably ended up losing thanks to Benhur Keser's late strike.

Even with a man advantage, Samsunspor had fewer shots on target, as they currently look a shadow of the side which finished 10 points clear of Rizespor on their way to the second-tier title last year.

While having the best attack and sternest defence in the division, those forward instincts have seemingly evaded them, as they have netted just five goals so far, two of which came after Galatasaray had got complacent while 3-0 up.

Samsunspor have not led at any point so far in their seven games this season, so that is something new manager Markus Gisdol must rectify if they are to drag themselves off the bottom.

A game in hand against Istanbulspor - the side directly above them - in two-and-a-half weeks' time already looks critical, with four relegation spots making survival even more difficult, so Samsunspor cannot get cut adrift at such an early stage.

Basaksehir are not doing much better though, as the Istanbul-based club are criminally underperforming again.

The 2020 Turkish champions finished last season 26 points adrift of the eventual winners Gala and were closer to the relegation zone by the end of the season, unsurprisingly missing out on Europe.

European qualification this season already looks an insurmountable task for Basaksehir too and we are only in October after another terrible start has them down in 15th, just one point above the drop zone.

Like their upcoming opponents, Basaksehir have scored just five goals so far this season, with local rivals Istanbulspor the only side to have found the net on fewer occasions.

A win over Istanbulspor were the only points Basaksehir managed in their opening six games, and they can potentially be attributed to a bounce on Cagdas Atan's arrival after Emre Belozoglu was sacked following three defeats to start the campaign.

Atan will have been seriously concerned after his side were embarrassed by cross-town opponents Fenerbahce - losing 4-0 - but they have seen a slight upturn since.

A 0-0 draw at Kayserispor in an extremely low-key affair was followed up by a good 2-0 win over Gaziantep just before the break.

Those three points moved them out of the relegation zone, and Basaksehir's next six games all look enticing on paper, and they must take as many points as possible against sides such as Samsunspor next, as well as Antalyaspor, Ankaragucu, Pendikspor and Rizespor.

Team News

Samsunspor will be without former Middlesbrough midfielder Marc Bola until next month as the Englishman recovers from a thigh injury, while Taylan Antalyali is also set to miss the next couple of weeks.

Mickael Tirpan made his debut for the club in the defeat at Rizespor after joining on a free transfer from Kasimpasa late in the summer window, and former Rennes midfielder Flavien Tait may come back into the starting XI after he had to settle for a place on the bench in Rize last time out.

Basaksehir have been struck with a rather lengthy injury list ahead of this one, and doubts over Serdar Gurler's fitness is the most notable.

The winger is currently suffering with a sprained ankle and is expected to miss out, while fellow attacker Patryk Szysz is also out with a meniscus injury.

Brazilian defensive duo Leo Duarte and Lucas Lima are also both sidelined, as the latter missed the win over Gaziantep after being forced off inside three minutes in the trip to Kayserispor.

Samsunspor possible starting lineup:
Kocuk; Yavru, Cift, Van Drongelen, Gonul; Kilinc, Tirpan, Aydogdu, Tait; Holse, Dimata

Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Babacan; Ba, Opoku, Sertel; Dubois, Turuc, Ozcan, Pelkas, Aleksic, Joao Figueiredo; Piatek

We say: Samsunspor 0-1 Istanbul Basaksehir

Neither side has a player in their ranks with more than one goal so far, highlighting their woes in front of goal, but Basaksehir may just have the edge in terms of quality to grab the points here.

Samsunspor must hope the arrival of Gisdol can have an instant impact, but they have not looked ready for this level at all so far this season.


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