Sivasspor welcome Hatayspor to 4 Eylul for a Turkish Super Lig encounter early on Saturday afternoon.

The club from Antakya, which was devastated in February's earthquake, have been sublime on their return to competitive action this season.

Match preview

Sivasspor come into the weekend just two places above the bottom four - an expanded relegation zone as the Super Lig will drop to 18 teams next season.

An Istanbul Basaksehir side who are expected to recover and two sides with a game in hand occupy those spots currently, so Sivasspor could be in bigger danger than it first appears.

Servet Cetin's side gave Samsunspor their only point of the season so far on the opening day, but they did win 3-1 at Gaziantep the following week.

The four games since have yielded just two points for Sivasspor though, as they have plummeted down the standings.

Defeat to Besiktas was not frowned upon too much, but there was disappointment in the air when Ankaragucu came here and won two weeks ago.

A draw in a low-key affair with Rizespor at the weekend essentially sums up their uninspiring season so far.

After facing Hatayspor here and Pendikspor next week, Sivasspor will have then faced all three promoted sides and the two clubs rebuilding after the earthquake, so still lingering around the drop zone by then will be cause for concern.

Luckily, Cetin's men do not face Fenerbahce or Galatasaray until December, so they still have time to pick up points before those two daunting encounters.

Hatayspor meanwhile, have made an unbeaten, fairytale start to the season.

The club are now on a seven-game unbeaten run, dating back to the 1-0 win against Kasimpasa which saw Christian Atsu score the winner just a day before he and tens of thousands of others were killed in the deadly earthquake which rocked the country.

With the club's hometown of Antakya virtually destroyed, Hatayspor then did not play competitively for six months, with the TFF giving them a bye to remain in the Super Lig for this season.

On their return, they have been excellent, starting the season with a 5-1 win at Pendikspor.

Four straight draws followed - three of which ended 0-0 - before getting back on the winning trail with a 3-2 success over 2022 Turkish champions Trabzonspor at the weekend.

That win on Monday saw them come from 2-0 down to win in dramatic circumstances, considering they were still behind with two minutes of normal time to play.

The visitors enter the weekend in fifth, ahead of the likes of Trabzonspor and Besiktas.

Team News

Sivasspor will welcome Clinton Njie back into the squad after his red card against Ankaragucu.

Ahmed Musa also returned to the fold last weekend after an injury layoff, while Fode Koita made his Sivasspor debut.

Also in attack, former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker Rey Manaj is yet to get off the mark, instead picking up three bookings in his first four games for the club.

Gerson Rodrigues's availability remains under question after recent assault claims were lodged against the player.

Despite recently returning from injury, Luxembourg have already announced that it is unlikely they will select him for international duty until further notice.

Rigoberto Rivas marked his full Hatayspor debut with the goal that got his side back into the game against Trabzonspor last weekend.

Fisayo Dele-Bashiru netted the dramatic late winner in that clash, and he has been a revelation since arriving from Sheffield Wednesday, scoring four in six games already from midfield.

Former Napoli left-back Faouzi Ghoulam also made his full debut last weekend and should start again in defence.

Sivasspor possible starting lineup:
Vural; Kapacak, Appindangoye, Osmanpasa, Ciftci; Charisis, Konak, Samu Saiz; Njie, Manaj, Barrow

Hatayspor possible starting lineup:
Kardesler; Corekci, Kilama, Bekaroglu, Ghoulam; Matondo, Aburjania, Dele-Bashiru; Strandberg, Lamkel Ze, Joelson Fernandes

We say: Sivasspor 1-2 Hatayspor

Three of the last five meetings have ended 1-1, suggesting this will be a close encounter, but Hatayspor did win the only head-to-head last season 2-1 here.

The visitors enter the fixture in much better form too, and may just edge this encounter.


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