On the 26th of December, Rizespor will host Gazişehir Gaziantep in a clash of the Super Lig. The game day is forecasted to be a cloudy and cool day, with daytime temperatures of only 7 degrees, which will make playing unpleasant. Rizespor is fresh off their 1-1 draw against Sivasspor. Olarenwaju Kayode struck first for Sivasspor in the 72nd minute, but Joel Pohjanpalo got the equalizer for Rizespor in the 74th minute earning Rizespor a comeback draw. Rizespor is looking for direction having earned 16 points in their last 10 matches, while in their last match, Gazişehir Gaziantep recorded a 2-1 win against Alanyaspor. Furkan Soyalp scored the first goal for Gazişehir Gaziantep in the 56th minute, then in the 62nd minute, Tayfur Bingöl sent in a beautiful pass which was converted by João Novais. Gazişehir Gaziantep is looking for direction having earned 14 points in their last 10 matches.
These two teams have not yet played each other this season, so it will be interesting how the match turns out. Last season Rizespor won the head to head battle with 2 wins.
Joao Figueiredo has been the most prolific scorer on Gazişehir Gaziantep in the last five matches with 3 goals. Rizespor’s most prolific scorer has been Joel Pohjanpalo. The attacker has netted 3 goals over the last five matches
Hamza Hamzaoğlu’s Rizespor squad will be without Bryan Dabo, Lebogang Phiri and Ronaldo Mendes, while Gazişehir Gaziantep will be without Alexander Merkel, Jefferson, Ángelo Sagal and Yusuf Türk.