Kocaelispor vs Gaziantep - prediction, team news, lineups

Kocaelispor big Gaziantep successful a Super Lig matchday-six fixture astatine the Yildiz Entegre Kocaeli Stadyumu connected Saturday.

Just 1 constituent presently separates the 2 clubs successful the Turkish Super Lig table, with Kocaelispor 5th connected 9 points and Gaziantep seventh connected 8 aft 5 rounds apiece.

Match preview

Kocaelispor went toe-to-toe with league leaders Galatasaray astatine RAMS Park past clip out, lone for Abdulkerim Bardakci's 71st-minute onslaught from extracurricular the container to settee the contention 1-0.

Goalkeeper Serhat Oztasdelen was cardinal to keeping the scoreline respectable, denying Baris Alper Yilmaz, Deniz Gul and Rafael Leao successful the archetypal fractional alone.

That decision ended a three-game winning series successful the league and besides snapped Kocaelispor's tally of 3 consecutive victories implicit Galatasaray successful the fixture.

Dan Agyei struck the woodwork connected 38 minutes astatine RAMS Park and remains the subordinate Selcuk Inan leans connected astir to interruption down deep-lying defences.

Kocaelispor person won three, drawn nary and mislaid 2 of their opening 5 league matches this term, beating Amed Sportif 2-0 and Samsunspor 1-0 astatine location either broadside of a 2-1 comeback triumph distant astatine Konyaspor.

Selcuk Inan's broadside memorably thrashed Gaziantep 3-0 astatine this aforesaid venue successful February, erstwhile Nazim Sangare's 47th-minute reddish paper near the visitors down to 10 men for the closing stages.

Gaziantep opened the 2026-27 run nether Mirel Radoi, drafting 1-1 with Alanyaspor earlier winning 1-0 distant astatine Eyupspor and past losing 2-1 to Caykur Rizespor.

That azygous triumph from 3 matches proved costly, and Radoi departed Gaziantep Futbol Kulubu by communal consent connected August 31 aft 132 days successful charge.

Orhan Ak, antecedently of Eyupspor, was appointed successful his spot connected September 4 and made an instant interaction with a 4-2 distant triumph astatine Goztepe successful his archetypal match.

Halil Dervisoglu opened the scoring wrong 5 minutes of that game, Myenty Abena doubled the pb with a near-post header, and Kacper Kozlowski added a second-half brace either broadside of a Kacper Tobiasz punishment save.

Ak followed that effect with a battling goalless gully astatine location to Fenerbahce successful gameweek five, a constituent helium described afterwards arsenic worthy its value successful golden fixed the gulf successful resources betwixt Anadolu clubs and the accepted large four.

Gaziantep beryllium seventh with 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 decision from 5 outings.

There is simply a idiosyncratic subplot to Saturday's trip, too, with Ak having begun his ain playing vocation astatine Kocaelispor betwixt 1996 and 2003 earlier moving connected to Galatasaray.

Kocaelispor Turkish Super Lig form:

Gaziantep Turkish Super Lig form:

Team News

Selcuk Inan is expected to debar wholesale changes pursuing a battling show against Galatasaray, though Makana Baku could travel successful connected the near successful spot of Agyei.

Bruno Petkovic remains sidelined and is not expected backmost for 4 to six weeks, portion Inan confirmed goalkeeper Aleksandar Jovanovic and midfielder Rigoberto Rivas volition lone resume afloat grooming erstwhile the planetary interruption begins, ruling some retired of the Gaziantep game.

For the visitors, winger Sontje Hansen returned to the substitutes' seat for the Fenerbahce crippled and is pushing for his archetypal engagement of the play nether Orhan Ak.

Gaziantep volition again beryllium without 3 players for the travel to Kocaeli, with Ali Kalin, Nazim Sangare and Fuat Bavuk each unavailable.

Kocaelispor imaginable starting lineup:

Oztasdelen; Haidara, Maglica, Zoukrou, Dijksteel; Susoho, Show, Kutlu; Baku, Aye, Sousa

Gaziantep imaginable starting lineup:

Tobiasz; Calhanoglu, Abena, Kizildag, Perez; Meleke; Kozlowski, Maxim, Gidado, Sorescu; Dervisoglu

We say: Kocaelispor 2-1 Gaziantep

Kocaelispor's emphatic 3-0 triumph implicit these nonstop opponents astatine this nonstop venue successful February points toward the hosts edging a choky contest, adjacent against a Gaziantep broadside that has traveled good this season.

Gaziantep person really won 2 of their 3 distant league games this season, but their lone decision of the run came connected the roadworthy astatine Caykur Rizespor, and Kocaelispor thrashed them 3-0 the past clip the 2 sides met astatine this venue.

Kocaelispor's attacking momentum from 3 consecutive wins successful August and aboriginal September, positive location vantage and a settled antiaircraft unit, should beryllium capable to spot disconnected a Gaziantep broadside inactive adjusting to its 3rd caput manager of the year.

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