Dec 19th features a match where Rizespor will play host to Yeni Malatyaspor in a meeting of these two evenly matched Super Lig teams. The game day is forecasted to be a cloudy and cool day, with daytime temperatures of only 9 degrees, which will make playing unpleasant. 19th placed Rizespor is fresh off their 3-1 win against Göztepe. Joel Pohjanpalo scored the first goal for Rizespor in the 40th minute, then Atınç Nukan got the equalizer for Göztepe in the 61st minute on a feed from Soner Aydoğdu. Rizespor is looking for direction having earned 12 points in their last 10 matches, while 18th placed Yeni Malatyaspor is fresh off their 2-6 loss against Alanyaspor. Rayane Aabid scored the first goal for Yeni Malatyaspor in the 4th minute, then Famara Diédhiou tied it up for Alanyaspor in the 14th minute Finally they completed the comback in the 33rd minute on a goal by Emre Akbaba to cap off a wild match. They’re hoping to improve on their recent performance, having earned only 8 points in their last 10 matches.
This will be the first match for these two teams against eachother this season. Last season Yeni Malatyaspor won the head to head battle with 2 wins.
Kubilay Kanatsızkuş and Benjamin Tetteh are the top scorers for Yeni Malatyaspor in the last five matches, but unfortunately they only have one goal.. Both Selim Ay and Joel Pohjanpalo have been the hottest scorers for Rizespor in the last 5 each having scored 2 goals each
Hamza Hamzaoğlu’s Rizespor squad will be without Ronaldo Mendes, while Rayane Aabid, Mustafa Eskihellaç, Damlu and Nuri Aydin are unavailable to play for Yeni Malatyaspor.