Trabzonspor will be optimistic of a continued good run as they welcome Sivasspor to the Papara Park in the final fixture of the 20th Round of the 2024/25 Turkish Super Lig.
The Black Sea Storm come into this game with conformation of winning the Turkish Cup in addition to conquering the Super Lig with Senol Gunes as the anointed mentor to lead the team back to its glorious days.
Trabzonspor started 2024 with a rather poor 2-1 loss to Samsounspor in the league; however, they have emerged strong with an astonishing 3-0 whipping of Alanyaspor in the Turkish Cup and more so a 5-0 humiliating of Antalyaspor in the league.
The star players have come to the party during this purple stage with Simon Banza scoring in both the wins, and Pedro Malheiro was brilliant against Antalyaspor by scoring a treble – even more importantly, exciting to witness was the defensive metal that was shown by Gunes’s side by not conceding goals in both the games.
The win took the Black Sea Storm to the 10th position on the pyramid with 22 points and even though the season had been unimpressive from the Trabzon-side, they will be relieved to see that they are six points away from the relegation zone.
The hosts have had more meaningful practice matches with most of the squad back to full fitness and should be looking forward to improving on the past four matches where the team has failed to register a win and will be looking forward to a win against Sivasspor who they have registered two losses and two draws in the last four encounters.
The first meeting this campaign concluded with a scoreless draw, and the host team was defeated 1-0 in the most recent encounter between the two in Papara Park.
On the other hand, Sivasspor are significantly struggling, with the team being 4 points and 2 places above the relegation line having accumulated only 20 points in 18 games.
In their most recent league game, Omer Erdogan's team drew 1-1 with Alanyaspor, continuing a concerning run of seven straight Super Lig games without a victory, including four losses and three draws.
Sivasspor's away performance raises questions about their prospects despite their recent impressive record versus Trabzonspor. They have only managed seven points out of a possible 24 on the road and are now experiencing a three-game losing skid in the league.
However, a victory at Papara Park would put the Yigidos ahead of Trabzonspor in the standings, and even though the odds are against them, their previous triumph here might give them more impetus.
Even though the majority of Trabzonspor's starters have returned from injury, they still lack a few important players.
Due to a cruciate ligament injury, Mehmet Albayrak is still out for Sivasspor and won't be available until March.
Although none were anticipated to start, Erdem Gulec, Samba Camara, Alaaddin Okumus, and Eymen Yurdcu are all out.
However, Rey Manaj and Charis Charisis, who have served out their suspensions and are expected to return to the starting lineup, will give the visitors a boost.
