Konyaspor head into Saturday's Turkish Super Lig encounter against Goztepe SK eager to avoid another setback that could further dent their hopes of top-flight survival.
The Anatolian Eagles saw their two-match winning run come to an end last time out, suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat away to Istanbul Basaksehir.
Match preview
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Konyaspor enjoyed a resurgence last month, claiming three wins from four Super Lig outings – a run that gave their survival hopes a much-needed lift.
Recep Ucar's men carried that momentum into the start of April, easing past third-tier Iskenderunspor with a 3-0 victory in the Turkish Cup quarter-finals, making it three successive wins in all competitions.
However, their positive streak came to an end with last Saturday's narrow defeat to Istanbul Basaksehir, a result that reduced their cushion above the relegation zone to just three points, with seven league matches still to play.
The relegation scrap is finely poised, with only five points separating 11th-placed Trabzonspor from 17th-placed Alanyaspor, and in such a critical period of the season, Konyaspor cannot afford another poor run of results.
While facing Goztepe may no longer seem as daunting given their inconsistent form, the hosts will be wary after suffering a 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture earlier this season.
Konyaspor's impressive home form could prove vital, as the Anatolian Eagles have won each of their last four matches at the Torku Arena across all competitions, including notable victories over Besiktas and Trabzonspor.
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Goztepe, though enjoying a stronger season overall, arrive in Konya in a slump, having stayed winless in their last nine league outings.
Their hopes of European football took another hit with a 1-1 home draw against Gaziantep, salvaged only by a stoppage-time goal from Kubilay Kanatsizkus.
Now sitting nine points off fourth place and just three ahead of Trabzonspor in 11th, a top-half finish is far from guaranteed for Goz, and anything but a win on Saturday could further threaten that objective.
Historically, Goztepe have fared reasonably well in this fixture, but before their win earlier this season, they had suffered four consecutive defeats to Konyaspor and have failed to win on their last two visits to the Torku Arena.
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Team News
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Konyaspor have several injury concerns ahead of this clash, as Guilherme is expected to miss out and could be replaced by Yasir Subasi.
Emmanuel Boateng, Josip Calusic, Hamidou Keyta and Tunahan Tasci are also sidelined, while Melih Ibrahimoglu is suspended.
Goztepe will be without Novatus Miroshi and Ahmed Ildiz due to injury, with Victor Hugo likely to step into a more advanced midfield role.
Isaac Solet is out for the rest of the season with a cruciate ligament injury, and Kuryu Matsuki is suspended.
On the positive side, Ismail Koybasi returns from suspension and is expected to replace the injured Djalma Silva.
Konyaspor possible starting lineup:
Slowik; Boranijasevic, Demirbag, Yazgili, Subasi; Ulgun, Jevtovic; Aleksic, Erdogan, Ndao; Kramer
Goztepe SK possible starting lineup:
Lis; Altikardes, Bokele, Heliton; Koybasi, Erdogan, Dennis, Nielsen; Hugo; Romulo, Juan
We say: Konyaspor 1-0 Goztepe SK
Konyaspor tend to perform much better on home soil and come into this fixture having won each of their last three matches at the Torku Arena. That strong home form makes them favourites against a struggling Goztepe side, who have faltered on the road all season, managing just one away win in their last 14 league outings.
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