Preview: Gaziantep vs. Kasimpasa - prediction, team news, lineups

Kasimpasa ended a run of eight Turkish Super Lig games without victory last time out and will be looking to claim back-to-back wins for the first time this season when they travel to face Gaziantep FK on Friday.

The home side are aiming to avoid recording consecutive defeats in the league, and Gaziantep currently sit 15th in the league after just three wins from their opening 11 fixtures.

Match preview

Erol Bulut's side fell to a 2-0 defeat last time out when they travelled to Istanbul where they faced Galatasaray, and that was Gaziantep's fifth loss of the season.

Perhaps losing on Sunday was not a surprise as all five of the team's league defeats have come away from the Gaziantep Stadium, but they will be glad to be back on home soil, where they are unbeaten this term.

The contrast in Gaziantep's home and away form is quite large, with Bulut's side only conceding two goals on their own patch, while when they have travelled for matches Gaziantep have allowed the opposition to score 14 goals in six games.

So far this campaign, Gaziantep have not gone more than three games without victory and they will be looking to ensure that they can beat a side which has not won away from home yet to get back on winning terms.

Similarly to their hosts on Friday, Kasimpasa's home form is superior to their away record, but Hakan Kutlu's side is likely to have been boosted by collecting three points last time out.

After suffering an early set back when goalkeeper Ertugrul Taskiran was forced off just 20 minutes into their game against Yeni Malatyaspor, Kasimpasa secured a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Loret Sadiku and Umut Bozok.

That was Kasimpasa's second clean sheet of this campaign, and the first time that they had stopped the opposition from scoring in their last eight outings.

Kasimpasa and Gaziantep's starts to the season have been quite similar, with both teams having scored 12 and conceded 16 in their opening 11 games, but Kasimpasa sit just three points behind Friday's home side after recording one more defeat.

Gaziantep got the better of Kasimpasa when these two teams first met last season, but Kasimpasa restored some redemption with a 2-2 draw in April when they travelled to Gaziantep in the Super Lig.

Team News

Both Pawel Olkowski and Jefferson are expected to be close to a return to action for Gaziantep, but having not played for at least a month due to injury, the duo are likely to miss out again on Friday.

Winger Angelo Sagal had to be substituted off the pitch after just 39 minutes against Giresunspor and he was not fit enough to make the matchday squad last time out, but he could come back to feature on the bench for the home side.

Bulut opted for a more defensive side against Galatasaray, but he is likely to set his side up in a 4-2-3-1 formation this time around, with Muhammet Demir leading the line.

Kasimpasa's Kevin Varga has not made an appearance for his club since last playing for Hungary against England at the beginning of September, but he is nearing a return to action and could be named among the substitutes.

Harun Tekin will make his third start of the season between the posts for the visitors after Taskiran went off injured last time out, but apart from that enforced change, Kasimpasa are likely to set up in the same way that they did last Saturday.

Valentin Eysseric provided two assists against Yeni Malatyaspor and he will be looking to continue with his creativity from the wide-left position.

Gaziantep possible starting lineup:
Guvenc; Mendyl, Tosca, Caulker, Kitsiou; Djilobodji, Erdogan; Figueiredo, Maxim, Dicko; Demir

Kasimpasa possible starting lineup:
Tekin; Elmali, Bruma, Donk, Dirar; Travnik, Sadiku; Eysseric, Hajradinovic, Erdogan; Jorgensen

We say: Gaziantep 2-1 Kasimpasa

Taking into consideration Gaziantep's good home form and Kasimpasa's poor away run, the hosts are favourites to claim all three points on Friday and bounce back from defeat last time out.

Kasimpasa have not showed enough quality away from home to suggest that they will be the first team to travel to Gaziantep and return with three points which should give confidence to the hosts.