Adana Demirspor will aim to carry forward the momentum from the end of last year as they host Istanbul Basaksehir at the New Adana Stadium on Saturday in a Round 18 Turkish Super Lig fixture.

The Blue Lightnings ended 2024 on a high, securing back-to-back league victories – their first wins of the current Super Lig campaign – and will be eager to build on that progress.

The Blue Lightnings began his tenure with a cup win and have since secured two victories in their last three league outings, marking not only their first Super Lig triumph but also their first consecutive wins of the season.

A hard-fought 2-1 home win over Besiktas was followed by an impressive 3-1 away victory against Hatayspor in a crucial relegation battle, with Dalci’s men showing resilience, overturning a deficit with three goals scored between the 61st and 75th minutes.

However, despite two wins and two draws, Adana remain with only five points on the board due to a three-point deduction imposed by the TFF licensing board for administrative shortcomings, leaving them 13 points adrift of safety, presenting a formidable challenge in their fight for survival.

Surviving the drop will require a monumental effort, but maintaining their current momentum will be Adana’s primary focus as they prepare to face a side they have defeated just once in 16 attempts.

Istanbul Basaksehir come into this clash on the back of a 2-2 home draw against Kasimpasa just before Christmas, extending their winless streak to two league matches and leaving them with only two wins in their last 10.

The in-form Krzysztof Piatek netted a brace of penalties – the first to equalise after an early setback and the second to give Basaksehir a fleeting lead, cementing his position atop the Super Lig scoring charts with 12 goals this season.

After 16 matches, Basaksehir occupy seventh place with 23 points, trailing Goztepe in fourth by five points, with a return to last season’s fourth-place finish remaining possible, provided they rediscover consistency.

Cagdas Atan‘s side will be keen to avoid another extended winless run, and with an excellent record of 11 victories against Adana, including three of the last four meetings, the visitors have reason for optimism.

However, Basaksehir’s away form remains a concern, with four consecutive Super Lig defeats on the road and just seven points accrued from a possible 24 in away matches this season.

Nabil Alioui remains sidelined with injury, paving the way for Bunyamin Balat to start in midfield, while Andrew Gravillon has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to a cruciate ligament tear.

Ali Yavuz Kol and Breyton Fougeu, neither of whom were expected to feature in this match, are also unavailable through injury, while Yusuf Sari has left the club, recently signing for Saturday’s opponents Basaksehir.

Meanwhile, the visitors will be boosted by the return of Ousseynou Ba, Deniz Turuc and Jerome Opoku, all of whom missed the previous match due to suspensions for accumulated yellow cards.

Piatek remains the key player to watch, with the Polish striker aiming to extend his remarkable form by scoring for an eighth consecutive match across all competitions and further cementing his place at the top of the Super Lig scoring chart.

Adana Demirspor possible starting lineup:
Dilmen; Duarte, Gureler, Kaplan, Lima; Ozdemir; Pelkas, Crespo, Kemen, Davidson; Piatek

Istanbul Basaksehir possible starting lineup:
Sengezer; Sahiner; Duarte, Opoku, Lima; Ozdemir, Crespo, Kemen; Turuc, Piatek, Gurler

The league resumes in Spain after a short break. I watched not so long ago Real Madrid host Sevilla, they were really already in vacation in terms of defending, conceding two goals with ease, and I was really not impressed with Courtois in goal gifting the 2nd goal pretty much, while Real Madrid missed many scoring chances, quite big ones, but did manage to score 4 goals till the end and win 4-2.