Samsunspor can confirm their place in the Europa League qualifiers should they avoid defeat in their penultimate Turkish Super Lig game on Sunday against hosts Trabzonspor at Papara Park.
The home side are seventh with 47 points but can no longer qualify for Europe after having drawn 1-1 with Bodrumspor on May 18, while third-placed Samsunspor have 60 points and occupy the first of two Europa League qualifier spots.
Match preview
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Trabzonspor will be disappointed to have drawn with fourth last and relegation-threatened Bodrumspor given they had only scored one goal in their prior four games.
Black Sea Storm's record in the final third has been poor, with the club failing to find the back of the net in two of their last three matches, conceding six goals in those fixtures.
When Sunday's hosts met Samsunspor in the league on January 4, they suffered a 2-1 defeat, their second consecutive loss against the visitors.
Boss Fatih Tekke has overseen six victories in his 12 games in charge – losing twice – but his team are winless in four matches and have lost two in that time.
The club have been beaten in their past two away outings, but both clashes came against champions Galatasaray, and they did triumph in their prior four on the road.
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As for Samsunspor, their ninth-minute strike against Sivasspor on May 18 was enough to secure all three points, and they should be credited for limiting their opponents to just one big chance.
Head coach Thomas Reis will be pleased that his team have managed to keep two consecutive clean sheets, the same as they had managed in their preceding 10.
Samsunspor are already assured of a place in the qualifying rounds of a UEFA competition next term, but they are six points ahead of fifth-placed Istanbul Basaksehir, who occupy the Conference League qualifiers spot, with just two matchweeks remaining.
The Red Lightning are in strong form having won three consecutive games heading to Papara Park, though it should be noted they lost their four previous matches.
Samsunspor have not travelled well given they have lost two and drawn two of their last five on the road, but Reis's side did win 2-1 against Bodrumspor on April 26 in their most recent away trip.
Team News
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Trabzonspor midfielder Batista Mendy is suspended, while striker Enis Destan is injured, so perhaps John Lundstram and Ozan Tufan will be stationed in defensive positions behind centre-forward Denis Dragus.
Defenders Arseniy Batahov, Huseyin Turkmen and Stefan Savic have been ruled out, as has goalkeeper Onuralp Cevikkan.
Boss Tekke could task Pedro Malheiro, Salih Malkocoglu, Okay Yokuslu and Arif Bosluk with shielding Muhammet Taha Tepe.
Samsunspor boast a relatively healthy squad, and they could field a backline consisting of Zeki Yavru, Lubomir Satka, Rick Van Drongelen and Marc Bola.
Defensive midfielder Youssef Ait Bennasser was joined in the middle of the pitch by Carlo Holse and Olivier Ntcham last time out, and the trio may feature together on Sunday.
In attack, Arbnor Muja and Emre Kilinc are likely to flank striker Landry Dimata, especially as winger Kingsley Schindler was forced off against Sivasspor.
Trabzonspor possible starting lineup:
Tepe; Malheiro, Malkocoglu, Yokuslu, Bosluk; Lundstram, Tufan; Zubkov, Cham-Saracevic, Nwakaeme; Dragus
Samsunspor possible starting lineup:
Kocuk; Yavru, Satka, Drongelen, Bola; Holse, Bennasser, Ntcham; Kilinc, Dimata, Muja
We say: Trabzonspor 0-2 Samsunspor
Trabzonspor's inability to reliably create chances could cost them on Sunday, and they may struggle to get back into the game if they concede first.
Samsunspor's form is strong, and they will be confident that they can take all three points given they have already beaten their hosts once this season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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Lewis Nolan
