Ankaragucu will host Hatayspor in the Super Lig on Thursday. After 15 games this season, the two teams are tied with 18 points apiece. Hatayspor is currently in 10th place, one spot ahead of Ankaragucu in 11th place based on goal differential.
Preview (Ankaragucu vs. Hatayspor)
After Ankaragucu’s president attacked a referee on the field last week, all Turkish football leagues postponed their matches. It putting the Super Lig in the public eye for all the wrong reasons. Adolfo Gaich scored the visitors’ equalizer in the 97th minute. Ankaragucu’s home match with Rizespor ended in a draw when Faruk Koca went onto the field. He assaulted referee Halil Umut Meler in the face. Players, referees, and spectators got into a brawl over the event.
After a shocking defense of his actions, in which he claimed he only intended to spit on the official’s face, Meler spent three days in the hospital recovering from a fractured eye socket. The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has since banned him from football for life. The Turkish Premier League will resume play on Tuesday. However, Ankaragucu will play their next five home games—including their matchup with Hatayspor on Thursday—behind closed doors after the TFF fined them €63,000.
The Star of the South finished the season with 14 points after going eight games without losing. Since then, they have only won one, drawn one, and lost five of their past seven Super Lig games. It included a close 1-0 loss to Istanbul Basaksehir a little more than a week ago. Volkan Demirel, the team’s head coach, served a touchline suspension for that game. However, he will return to the dugout on Thursday, and he will be watching to see how his players respond as they look to snap out of their bad run and stay in the top half of the standings.
Team News
Due to a thigh injury, Ankaragucu midfielder Tolga Cigerci is still out, and attacker Ali Sowe is suspended after receiving a red card against Rizespor earlier in the game. In Sowe’s absence, either Adriad Bajic or Federico Macheda, a former Manchester United forward, could start at the front. Wingers Garry Rodrigues and Olimpiu Morutan, the latter of whom scored in the previous game against Rizespor, will likely give help in the attack.
Regarding Hatayspor, Kamil Corekci has missed the last six league games due to a knee ailment and is not anticipated to play on Thursday. Mehdi Boudjemaa is currently healing from a muscle injury and is not expected to return until the New Year. Engiz Demir could play defense in place of former Napoli left-back Faouzi Ghoulam. He is doubtful after missing the loss at Basaksehir due to an undisclosed injury. Meanwhile, the attacking trio of Renat Dadashov, Carlos Strandberg, and Rigoberto Rivas—who have scored 11 goals between them so far this season—are all expected to maintain their positions in the final third.
Ankaragucu 2-1 Hatayspor
For more football previews, click here
