Konyaspor vs. Gençlerbirliği – News and Probable Lineups

Konyaspor is aiming to break their goal drought when they face Genclerbirligi at Medas Konya Buyuksehir Stadyumu on Sunday in the Turkish Super Lig.

Coach Ilhan Palut’s squad has only found the back of the net once in the last five league outings and has not scored in three matches running. However, the visitors are also in a tough spot, having not achieved a victory in their last six league games, presenting the hosts with a prime opportunity to revive their season against a team with a weak away defence.

Match overview

Konyaspor enters the ninth round sitting in 16th place with five points from eight matches, having achieved one victory, two draws, and five defeats, while they have yet to record a win in their past three league encounters, drawing twice and losing once.

Their most recent defeat came away to Amed SK, where they conceded a goal in the 86th minute to lose 1-0 despite being solid defensively for the majority of the match, only to concede late and provide no response.

This latest outcome followed goalless draws against Istanbul Basaksehir and Kasimpasa, and Palut is now prioritized enhancing his side’s attacking efficiency without sacrificing the defensive solidity that has kept their recent games tight.

After the loss to Amed, Palut acknowledged the struggles in attack, admitting that his team faced difficulties in generating goal-scoring opportunities and that his substitutions did not sufficiently impact the final third. Their recent performance has underscored this dilemma as they have only scored once across their previous five league matches, with leading scorer Deniz Turuc managing just one goal.

Nonetheless, the hosts have reasons to be optimistic about this matchup, having secured promising results in their last two home fixtures, including a goalless draw with Basaksehir and a 1-0 win against Trabzonspor in Konya.

Past league encounters have also been favorable for Konyaspor, who have emerged victorious in their last two matchups against Genclerbirligi and are unbeaten in their last four meetings, recording two wins and two draws.

Genclerbirligi currently sits just one place ahead of Konyaspor in 15th place, with eight points from eight games, and their last match ended in a 1-0 home loss to Galatasaray, with the decisive goal coming in the 88th minute due to an own goal by goalkeeper Irfan Can Egribayat.

This defeat represented Bernd Storck’s second match in charge after taking over from Metin Diyadin, and the German manager is still seeking his first victory after overseeing a 2-2 draw against Amed and the slim defeat to Galatasaray.

Although the performance against Galatasaray did not yield results, staying competitive until the dying minutes demonstrated that Genclerbirligi can hold their own when their defensive structure is solid.

Concerns remain regarding their away form, as the visitors have lost their last two matches on the road, suffering a heavy 5-0 defeat to Trabzonspor before a 4-0 loss at Basaksehir, although they started their away campaign with a 1-0 win against Goztepe.

Team News

Konyaspor defender Adil Demirbag is still sidelined due to a cruciate ligament injury, while Enis Destan has been recovering from a knee issue and initially trained separately, but reports are indicating he could potentially be included in the squad.

Ugurcan Yazgili is also making headway in his recovery from a muscle ailment, with the club confirming that he participated in a full training session after returning from treatment, although he is still expected to miss this match.

Injuries have also been reported for Pedro Pereira and Kevin Rodrigues, while Adama Traore and Cheikh Niasse remain doubtful.

Oghenekaro Etebo was omitted from the previous matchday’s squad, although his absence was not attributed to an injury, while the status of Ogulcan Ulgun and Sekou Koita is uncertain.

Konyaspor probable starting XI:

Gungordu; Yagzili, Baniya, Demirbag, Masuaku; Jevtovic, Ibrahimoglu; Turuc, Toth, Goncalves; Let it go

Genclerbirligi probable starting XI:

Egribayat? Uzum, Baltaci, Goutas, Thalisson? Diabetes? Luis, Ucan, Tongya, Gouveia; Mendes

The attacking difficulties faced by Konyaspor render a home win uncertain, yet this fixture presents an opportunity for them to find their scoring form, especially against a team that has been vulnerable defensively on the road.

Genclerbirligi has conceded nine goals in their three away encounters, and this defensive frailty could play a critical role if Konyaspor manages to break their scoring slump and shift a closely contested game in their favor.