Preview: Sivasspor vs. Yeni Malatyaspor - prediction, team news, lineups

Sivasspor will look to end a four-game winless league run when they face Yeni Malatyaspor on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the visitors find themselves propping up the Turkish Super Lig table after failing to win any of their previous 13 league games.

Match preview

© Reuters

The hosts have collected two points from their previous four league matches, leaving them in 12th place in the Turkish Lig table.

Last weekend, they suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat away to Gaziantep, but an element of pride was restored in midweek as they overcame second-tier opposition to reach the quarter-final of the Turkish Cup.

In their last 16 fixture, Sivasspor travelled away to face Bandirmaspor, and it proved to be an eventful encounter, with the hosts going down to 10 men in the first half, while a Max Gradel hat-trick and an Aaron Appidangoye strike helped the visitors clinch a 4-2 victory.

Sivasspor will now turn their attention back to league action, and although they have only lost once at home this season, Riza Calimbay's side have struggled to convert draws into victories at home.

As for Yeni Malatyaspor, they sit rock bottom of the Turkish Super Lig table, and with 15 games left to play, they are 10 points adrift of safety.

In their most recent fixture, they travelled to the Ataturk Olympic Stadium to face Fatih Karagumruk, where a Salih Dursun goal proved enough to give condemn Yeni Malatyaspor to 1-0 defeat.

As a result of that loss, Marius Sumudica was relieved of his managerial duties and was replaced by Adem Buyuk, who has taken up a player-manager role.

Buyuk's task is a tricky one with Sunday's visitors struggling at either end of the pitch as they currently hold the second worse defensive record in the league, while they also possess the worst goalscoring record (18) in the Turkish Super Lig this season.

Goals have been particularly hard to come by on the road, with Yeni Malatyaspor netting on just three occasions away from home in the league this season, and if they are to beat the drop, they need to start finding the net on a consistent basis.

Team News

The hosts are likely to be without the services of Ahmet Oguz and Hakan Arslan due to injury issues.

After being sent off last weekend, Mustafa Yatabare will miss Sunday's game through suspension, while Isaac Cofie is also banned due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Gradel was introduced at half time last weekend, but after scoring a hat-trick in the cup in midweek, the Ivory Coast international is expected to start Sunday's encounter.

Meanwhile, Stephen Mallan and Benjamin Tetteh are both absent for Yeni Malatyaspor due to injury problems.

Gaston Campi made his debut for the visitors last weekend and the 30-year-old will start Sunday's encounter alongside Sadik Ciftpinar in the centre of defence.

Buyuk may resist the temptation to bring himself into the starting lineup, with the Yeni Malatyaspor boss expected to be among the substitutes.

Sivasspor possible starting lineup:
Vural; Altinay, Osmanpasa, Goutas, Ciftci; Yesilyurt, Fajr, Felix, Kesgin, Henrique; Kayode

Yeni Malatyaspor possible starting lineup:
Ozbir; Zeffane, Ciftpinar, Campi, Hafez; Aabid, Azubuike, Donsah; Eskihellac, Chouiar, Dicko

We say: Sivasspor 2-1 Yeni Malatyaspor

Although there has been a change in the Yeni Malatyaspor dugout, we think that the visitors will be unable to trouble their hosts on Sunday, with Sivasspor looking to extend their unbeaten home run to 12 league games.

Previews by email