Istanbul Basaksehir will host Kayserispor in the Super Lig on Monday. With 25 league games played, the hosts will enter this encounter with 33 points in a loaded mid-table. While the visitors, with 29 points, will be trying to distance themselves from the teams in the drop zone.
Preview (Istanbul Basaksehir vs. Kayserispor)
Istanbul Basaksehir has been gaining ground over the past month, having defeated Konyaspor and Istanbulspor three times in a row. Last week, they defeated Hatayspor on penalties to guarantee their spot in the Turkish Cup quarterfinals. But last Saturday at Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi, The Grey Owls’ winning streak came to an end as they were defeated 2-0 by league leaders Galatasaray, who played with relative ease. The team coached by Cagdas Atan will now eagerly await their return to their home field. They have performed admirably this season. They have won five of the past seven games and lost just twice.
The last meeting between the two teams took place at the Kadir Has Stadium, where the hosts prevailed 2-0. Despite this, Basaksehir has never won nor scored in their previous two games against this opponent. As for Kayserispor, it has only been a day and a half since their last competitive triumph. They have gone 10 games without a win (W8 D2 L0) from October to December of last year. After losing seven straight games from the middle of December to the end of January, the team chose to fire Recep Ucar after just 21 games, one weekend after he took over as manager in the opposing dugout.
Since taking over as manager of the Anatolian Stars on January 27, Burak Yilmaz has gone undefeated. They recorded three straight draws, including a very impressive 0-0 tie against his former team, Besiktas, last weekend. This season, Kayserispor has managed to accrue 12 points out of a possible 36 in away games; going forward, the new manager will look to put a stop to the team’s five-game losing run (W0 D1 L4).
Team News
Mitrios Pelkas, Patryk Szysz, and Onur Ergun, three midfielders who are sidelined with injuries, will not be available for the hosts. In defense, Lucas Lima will have to watch the game while serving a one-match suspension for accumulating yellow cards, and Omer Ali Sahiner and Leo Duarte are also listed as out due to injury. With a muscular ailment, the home team’s defender Mahid Hosseini has missed the last 12 games and is still at least a few weeks away from playing again, while Anthony Uzodimma won’t be back until next month.
Istanbul Basaksehir 1-1 Kayserispor
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