Kasimpasa vs Konyaspor: Match preview, tips, h2h, predictions & more as Awaziem faces fresh test

⚽ Kasımpaşa vs Konyaspor
Predicted score	Kasımpaşa 2-1 Konyaspor
Top tip	Kasımpaşa to win and both teams to score
Nigerian angle	Chidozie Awaziem pushing for his first Süper Lig start for Konyaspor after being an unused substitute against Trabzonspor
🇳🇬 Key stat: Konyaspor are yet to take a point away from home this season, from two matches

Chidozie Awaziem, who just joined in the summer, will be hoping to finally get his Süper Lig account moving in Kasimpasa vs Konyaspor as the two teams do battle at the Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadyumu in Istanbul on Friday.

The Super Eagles defender has been named among the substitutes in Konyaspor’s last two matchday squads and has only gotten seven minutes of action on the pitch.

With İlhan Palut’s back line struggling for consistency, an opening could present itself against a Kasımpaşa side unbeaten in five league matches and looking to finally win at home this season.

Kasımpaşa vs Konyaspor match preview

Kasımpaşa go into matchday six fourth in the table on nine points from five matches, a record built on two wins and three draws.

Mücadele Günü. 💚🤍 #KSPvKNY pic.twitter.com/kVHSghQLuh

— TÜMOSAN Konyaspor (@konyaspor) September 17, 2026

Emre Belözoğlu’s side have been particularly effective on the road, winning two of their three away matches and remaining unbeaten there, but they have drawn both of their home fixtures this season.

A goal has come in every one of their last five league matches, a run that has masked a defence still prone to conceding at the other end.

Konyaspor’s season has been far tougher, with four defeats from their opening five matches leaving them 16th on three points.

The one bright spot came last time out, when Palut’s side beat Trabzonspor to snap a three-match losing run, though eight goals conceded across those five games point to a defence still finding its feet.

Away form is the bigger concern for Konyaspor, who have lost both of their away matches this season without scoring a single goal on the road, making Friday’s trip to Istanbul a stern early test of Palut’s rebuilding project.

Head-to-head record: Kasımpaşa vs Konyaspor

Konyaspor remain unbeaten in the last five meetings with Kasımpaşa, a run made up of two wins and three draws.

The two most recent meetings both finished level, with a 1-1 draw in Istanbul in October 2025 followed by an identical scoreline in the reverse fixture in Konya in March 2026.

Results from beyond the last year, including a 3-3 draw in January 2025 and back-to-back Konyaspor wins in 2024, carry far less weight given how much both squads have changed since, but the overall pattern points to a tight, competitive fixture rather than a routine home win.

Team news: Kasımpaşa vs Konyaspor

Kasımpaşa

Left-back Cláudio Winck is the only Kasımpaşa player under any real fitness cloud, carrying a yellow-card accumulation risk rather than a confirmed suspension, and he is expected to be available.

Adrian Benedyczak continues to lead the line and remains the club’s designated penalty taker, with new arrivals Güven Yalçın and on-loan Crystal Palace winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi both pushing for more minutes from the bench.

Konyaspor

North Macedonia international Enis Bardhi is available again after serving a two-match ban for a red card against Kocaelispor, a timely boost for Palut’s midfield options.

Awaziem is the man to watch after being left among the substitutes for the win over Trabzonspor, alongside fellow new signings Ebrima Colley, Jean-Luc Dompé and Mostafa Mohamed, all still waiting for a first Konyaspor start.

KASIMPAŞA	KONYASPOR
Cláudio Winck — yellow-card risk, expected to play	Enis Bardhi — suspension served, available

Star player comparison: Adrian Benedyczak vs Rajmund Tóth

The managers: Emre Belözoğlu vs İlhan Palut

Emre Belözoğlu is one of Turkish football’s most decorated former players, having reached a World Cup third place in 2002 and a European Championship bronze in 2008 as a central midfielder.

His coaching career took in spells at İstanbul Başakşehir and Ankaragücü before he took charge of Kasımpaşa in 2025, and he is now in his second season at the helm with the side unbeaten in five.

İlhan Palut returned to Konyaspor this season for a second spell, having previously guided the club to a third-place league finish between 2021 and 2023.

Known for a high-pressing 4-2-3-1 and a focus on developing young domestic talent, Palut also has a first promotion of Hatayspor to the Süper Lig on his résumé, though results so far this season have lagged well behind those earlier achievements.

Tactical preview: Kasımpaşa vs Konyaspor

Both managers have used a 4-2-3-1 in their most recent matches, setting up a genuine tactical mirror image on Friday.

Kasımpaşa’s approach leans on direct, vertical play through Mortadha Ben Ouanes and pacey wide options such as Fousséni Diabaté, feeding Benedyczak quickly rather than building patiently through midfield.

Konyaspor under Palut prefer to press high and dominate territory, but that approach has repeatedly left gaps behind the full-backs, a factor in the eight goals conceded across their last five matches.

That combination, an aggressive Konyaspor press against a Kasımpaşa side built to break quickly, could easily produce another goal-heavy afternoon similar to several of this fixture’s recent head-to-head meetings, and it is exactly the kind of scenario in which Awaziem’s composure on the ball could offer Palut a steadier alternative at centre-back.

Kasımpaşa vs Konyaspor betting tips and predictions

Final score prediction: Kasımpaşa vs Konyaspor

🔮 Kasımpaşa 2 – 1 Konyaspor

Kasımpaşa’s unbeaten run and home advantage should be enough to see off a Konyaspor side still without an away point this season, though the visitors’ improved attacking output under Palut should get them on the scoresheet. Likely scorer: Adrian Benedyczak.