Sivasspor face CFR Cluj at Yeni 4 Eylul Stadyumu on Thursday night in a crucial tie that could decide who will finish top of Europa Conference League Group G.
Cluj come into this game in better form and have not lost a game since their last meeting with the Turkish side.
Match preview
Sivasspor lost their last fixture against Trabzonspor 1-0 and will be looking for a more positive result in this fixture to move them a step closer to the knockout stages of this competition.
They currently sit on seven points, the same number as their opponents, with a win in this game securing their place in the knockout round due to their head-to-head record.
The Turkish side won the previous game between the two sides with a goal from Max Gradel from the penalty spot. The game ended 1-0 despite Cluj having 27 shots with seven of them being on target and is a result that has put Sivaasspor in the preferred position in the group.
Attacking midfielder Dia Saba has been the key to the offensive success that Riza Calimbay's side have had so far this season, scoring five goals, including once in the Conference League, and creating four goals, with two of those assists coming in this competition.
Max Gradel will be hoping that a fixture against Cluj can have a positive impact on his scoring form, as he has not found the net since their last meeting.
However, he did contribute an assist in Sivasspor's last Conference League fixture, so he will be looking to continue his involvement in goals into this match.
Cluj are unbeaten in their last eight games in all competitions, with their most recent fixture being a 2-1 victory against Universitatea Cluj. The two goals came from the penalty spot with Cephas Malele and Ciprian Deac finding the net.
Deac has scored three times from the spot this season, including once in their last Europa Conference League game, which adds to his tally of eight goal contributions so far this season.
Yuri Matias also scored his fourth goal of the season in their match in this competition against Slavia Prague, an impressive tally for a central defender.
Dan Petrescu's side have a good defensive record, which has helped them into this position in the group, with back-to-back clean sheets against Slavia Prague, and also not conceding more than one goal in a game since the end of August.
The signing of Italian goalkeeper Simone Scuffet is key to this defensive improvement, with him keeping four clean sheets in the nine league games he has started and also stopping the opposition from scoring twice so far in this competition.
If Cluj win this game by a greater margin than their 1-0 defeat to Sivasspor, they will qualify for the knockout stages of this competition. If they draw this fixture, they will have to rely on results going their way in the last Europa Conference League matchday.
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Team News
Since their last game in this competition, Sivasspor have made very few changes to their starting 11, with the main rotation being in the midfield positions.
In defensive midfield, Harkan Aslan started the last league game unlike in the last Conference League game, when he started on the bench before he came on and scored. The absence of Robin Yalcin meant he started the last league game with Charis Charisis.
Max Gradel returned to the matchday squad last time out in the league and could potentially feature in the starting lineup for this game, taking the place of Clinton N'jie.
Cluj have also had quite a settled lineup since their last appearance in this competition, with their main changes being in attack.
Rangelo Yanga started the last Conference League game against Slavia Prague but Cephas Malele is expected to come into the lineup for this fixture.
The other change to that team will most likely be Claudiu Petrila starting in the left midfield position instead of Roger Junio.
Sivasspor possible starting lineup:
Vural; Ciftci, Osmanpasa, Goutas, Paluli; Charisis, Arslan, Gradel, Saba, Yesilyurt; Yatabare
CFR Cluj possible starting lineup:
Scuffet; Camora, Kolinger, Matias, Manea; Petrila, Muhar, Adjei-Boateng, Deac; Malele, Yeboah
We say: Sivasspor 0-2 CFR Cluj
Despite Sivasspor's win in the last fixture between the two sides, we would favour Cluj in this fixture as they are in really good form.
They also dominated the last game statistically and if they put in the same level of performance with a more clinical edge, they should come away with the victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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