Gaziantep will look to maintain their formidable home form as they host struggling Adana Demirspor at Gaziantep Stadium on Sunday in the Turkish Super Lig.
The hosts have steadily climbed the league standings and now find themselves far removed from relegation worries, while the visitors continue to languish at the bottom of the table.
Match preview
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Gaziantep have carried their strong form into the new year, building on consecutive victories in their final two matches of 2024 against Antalyaspor in the Super Lig and Orduspor in the Turkish Cup.
Selcuk Inan's side opened 2025 with a 2-2 league draw against Kasimpasa before securing a dominant 4-0 win over Istanbulspor in a cup clash, with their performances leaving them eighth in the standings with 22 points from 17 matches.
The hosts have been especially impressive at Gaziantep Stadium, where they remain unbeaten across all competitions since their first league game of the season. Inan's men have won their last eight home matches, including five in the league, making the Gaziantep Stadium a fortress.
Historically, matches between these two sides have been evenly contested, while Adana Demirspor edged out 12 wins compared to Gaziantep's 10 in 30 meetings, the hosts will take confidence from their emphatic 6-1 victory in their last encounter.
Another win on Sunday would mark the first time Gaziantep have beaten Adana in back-to-back matches since the 2004-05 season when they met in the third division.
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Adana Demirspor, meanwhile, suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Istanbul Basaksehir in their first league game of the year, stalling the momentum they had built under Mustafa Dalci.
Since his appointment in late November, the Blue Lightnings have secured three wins, more than their season tally across all competitions before his arrival.
This will leave some room for optimism for the Adana, who are stuck to the bottom of the Super Lig table and are already 14 points adrift of safety at this stage of the campaign.
However, the visitors have a glimmer of hope heading into Sunday's clash, as they have been more productive on the road this season, most recently picking up a 2-1 win over Hatayspor in their last away game.
The Blue Lightnings are also undefeated in their last five away matches against Gaziantep across all competitions, leaving room for more optimism.
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Team News
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Gaziantep will be without Sokratis Dioudis (thigh), Godfrey Bitok (leg), Enric Saborit (ankle) and Emre Tasdemir (muscle).
The hosts will also be without Bruno Viana and Christopher Lungoyi, who are suspended due to accumulated yellow cards, though Deian Sorescu is set to return after serving his suspension.
For Adana Demirspor, Andrew Gravillon is out for the season with a cruciate ligament injury, while Breyton Fougeu is also sidelined.
Yusuf Barasi, the visitors' top scorer with five league goals, will be crucial to their chances of causing an upset.
Gaziantep possible starting lineup:
Buzan; M'bakata, Ersoy, Kizildag, Eskihallac; Lungoyi, Daubin, Kozlowski, Okereke; Maxim; Dervisoglu
Adana Demirspor possible starting lineup:
Donmezer; Kurtulan, Burak, Kalender, Guler; Muanza, Aymbetov; Kol, Celik, Sari; Barasi
We say: Gaziantep 2-0 Adana Demirspor
Gaziantep's impeccable home form makes them favorites against bottom-placed Adana Demirspor, with the hosts' eight-game unbeaten streak at Gaziantep Stadium telling the story that Adana's recent away resilience is unlikely to prevent another home triumph.
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