Having seen their five-year stay in the Turkish Super Lig officially come to an end last weekend, Hatayspor now find themselves playing purely for pride when they host Istanbul Basaksehir on Saturday.
The visitors on the other hand, have everything to play for, with European qualification still very much within grasp if they can hit another winning streak in their last five matches.
Match preview
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Hatayspor’s top-flight farewell could not have come in much more crushing fashion, losing 5-1 to a Besiktas side that barely needed to shift out of second gear summed up a campaign riddled with defensive frailties and a lack of consistent fight.
The Star of the South have now lost five on the bounce and have shipped 62 goals, a total better only than Adana Demirspor’s leaky backline that have let in 77 goals.
It has been a season to forget, Murat Sahin‘s team winning just four wins from 31 matches, having struggled to impose themselves all year, while they also have the second-worst goal difference, only better than Adana’s.
The hosts could well suffer more this weekend, giving their dire record against Basaksehir, having lost 16 of 27 meetings between the two sides, including a 3-0 drubbing earlier this campaign.
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Basaksehir, meanwhile, must bounce back quickly after a humbling 4-1 loss to Goztepe last time out, which was a major setback in their push for a top-four finish.
With heavyweight clashes against Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Kasimpasa still looming, the visitors cannot afford a slip up on Saturday if they harbour hopes of catching Besiktas in fourth.
Cagdas Atan‘s team are four points off the pace in the race for Europe, but coming up against an already-relegated opposition could give them a boost, and their recent history against Hatayspor spells dominance.
Basaksehir have five straight wins across all competitions in this fixture, a 10-3 aggregate score in those games, while they have not lost in the last eight encounters against the hosts.
Team News
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Hatayspor will once again turn to Chandral Massanga in midfield, with Lamine Diack still sidelined through injury.
Funsho Bamgboye is expected to start on the left wing, covering for the suspended Joelson Fernandes, while Rui Pedro remains out with injury.
For Istanbul Basaksehir, Onur Ergun is unavailable due to injury, while Joao Figueiredo is set to spearhead the attack in place of the suspended Krzysztof Piatek, who is two goals behind in the race for the golden boot.
Following the disappointing defeat at Goztepe, Atan is likely to recall Deniz Turuc to the starting XI for a more balanced attack.
Hatayspor possible starting lineup:
Bekaj; Sertel, Calvo, Kilama, Corekci; Massanga, Parmak; Bamgboye, Saglam, Boutobba; Aboubakar
Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Sengezer; Operi, Duarte, Ba, Sahiner; Ozdemir, Crespo, Kemen; Sari, Figueiredo, Turuc
We say: Hatayspor 0-2 Istanbul Basaksehir
With Hatayspor already relegated and on a miserable run of five losses, it is hard to see them offering much resistance here against a Basaksehir side that will be determined to bounce back from their heavy loss at Goztepe and keep their European hopes alive.
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