Hatayspor will host Gaziantep with both teams separated by a point in the Super Lig. For the first time this season, the visitors set out to win two straight-away games. The Star of the South will be seeking to snap their six-game losing streak.
Preview (Hatayspor vs. Gaziantep)
After a difficult finish to the year, Hatayspor finds themselves hovering barely above the relegation zone despite starting the season with a lot of promise and being undefeated in their first eight games. Volkan Demirel’s team lost three of its last five league games in 2023. It included a 2-1 loss to Besiktas on Christmas Day. Their bad run of play has been accompanied by a lack of cutting-edge in their attack. This was evident in their opening game of the new year when they lost 2-0 to Caykur Rizespor.
Last Saturday at the Caykur Didi Stadium, Dal Varesanovic and Ibrahim Olawoyin scored goals in each half to give the hosts a comfortable win despite the Star of the South’s 16 attempts failing to find the goal. Hatayspor is presently 15th in the Super Lig standings, barely one point above the relegation zone. They have scored nine goals in the four games before this run, but have only scored one goal in their previous four games. In contrast, Gaziantep lost their opening match of the season 2-2 against Pendikspor. They blew a two-goal lead in the last 13 minutes of play. As a result, they were left fuming.
Dennis Dragus and Ogun Ozcicek gave Gaziantep a dominant two-goal lead, but goals in the final three minutes from Erdem Ozgenc and Erencan Yardimci forced a split of the spoils at Gaziantep Stadium. Before that, on December 23, Marius Sumudica’s team defeated Fatih Karagumruk 3-0 in the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, ending a four-match league winless streak. For the first time since August 2022, when they began the 2022–23 season with three victories and one tie in their first four games, Gaziantep has gone three games in a row without losing in the league after their draw against Pendikspor.
Team News
Mehdi Boudjemaa, a French midfielder, is still out for Hatayspor. He sustained a hamstring injury back in July and is still sidelined. The 27-year-old forward Didier Lamkel Ze is listed alongside him on the team’s injury table. Ze has missed the last five games since withdrawing on December 1 due to a muscular injury sustained against Antalyaspor. Due to their current international assignments with the Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau, respectively, Max Gradel and Janio Bikel, the midfield tandem of Gaziantep, will not be available for selection by Sumudica. Ulas Zengin, a 26-year-old Turkish defender has been sidelined since last July due to a serious injury. He will not participate in the midweek match.
Dragus, a summer acquisition, has seven goals and one assist in 14 league games. He scoring his first goal against Pendikspor last time out. We anticipate the Standard Liege loanee to spearhead the visitors’ assault once more. Although there have been a total of 18 goals scored in the previous five encounters between Hatayspor and Gaziantep, we expect a tight game on Wednesday at the Mersin Stadium. Hatayspor will likely hold out for a share of the spoils despite their recent problems. Since January 2023, they have only lost two home games.
Hatayspor 1-1 Gaziantep
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