Ankaragücü vs Eskisehirspor match preview!

A crowd of 20,000 is expected on Sunday afternoon at the 19 Mayis Stadium as Ankaragücü take on fierce rivals Eskisehirspor with both sides having everything to fight for albeit different reasons. Ankaragücü will go into the match full of confidence after and excellent 2-1 win at Istanbulspor midweek. Eskisehirspor are only 1 point outside the relegation zone after a disappointing 4-2 home defeat against Altinordu midweek.

 Nduka Ozokwo and Anton Putsila both give Ankaragücü a big boost by returning to full training this week. Ozokwo has been out for 6 months after picking up an injury at Rizespor last year, while star man Putsila has missed the last couple of games. Both players will add quality to the Ankaragücü attack which has been a concern since the restart of the second half of the season. Tonia Tisdell is still out but also back in training.

The game at Istanbulspor midweek was hard fought but Ankaragücü will need to again find improvement as they were lucky to come away with all 3 points. The first half in particular was dominated by Istanbulspor who were faster and moved the ball a lot quicker. Two great finishes from Ilhan Parlak and Lanre Kehinde who were the heroes of the day giving Ankaragücü all 3 points.

It’s likely that Anton Putsila and Ilhan Parlak will come into the starting line up in place of Abdulkadir Kayali and Enes Kubat for Sunday’s game. Abdulkadir in particular has had a tough time with injuries during his 2nd spell at the club and has struggled to make any impact. 

Goals from Kenan Özer, Ilhan Parlak and Umut Nayir gave Ankaragücü all 3 points in a 3-1 win in Eskisehir the last time the two sides met. The result perhaps flattered Ankaragücü as Eskisehirspor had more possession and more shots on goal, but Ankaragücü were more clinical when it mattered.

Eskisehirspor have only won 1 of their last 5 matches and have struggled all season in the defensive side of their game. Only Manisaspor and Gaziantepspor have conceded more goals. That said only Rizespor have scored more goals all season in the PTT Lig.

Chiko Ofoedu is the key player for Eskisehirspor having scored 12 goals and his all round play makes him one of the leagues best players. His pace and skill will cause problems for any defence and the 25 year old is playing the best football of his career which will almost certainly see him win a move to a higher level in the summer. 

The Ankaragücü crowd will play a big role in Sunday’s match. An almost full 19 Mayis Stadium will bring a fantastic atmosphere which will help cheer the team on against rivals Eskisehirspor. Although the two sides have respect for each other’s fans, there is still a lot of tension between the two sets of fans after 2 Ankaragücü fans were stabbed in Eskisehir almost 10 years ago.