Gençlerbirliği will host Trabzonspor at 20.30 tonight in the Ziraat Turkey Cup, with the winner booking the last place in the final. The away side arrives in Ankara knowing this is the match that decides who gets to face TÜMOSAN Konyaspor for the trophy.
The timing gives the game immediate weight. With the semifinal stage reaching its last step, there is no room for a second chance, and both clubs have had to name lineups while carrying absences that shape the contest before the first whistle. Gençlerbirliği listed six players as unavailable because of injury, while Trabzonspor reported three injured players of its own.
Gençlerbirliği’s treatment room includes Varesanovic, Koita, Thalisson, Etebo, Kyabou and Abdullah Şahindere, all still continuing recovery work. Trabzonspor is missing Batagov, Okay Yokuşlu and Visca. Those absences leave each side with decisions already made before kick-off, and the starting lineups reflect the personnel each coach can actually use.
Gençlerbirliği’s lineup features Erhan, Hanousek, Hamza, Arda, Fıratcan, Diabate, Samed, Ensar, ERk, Göktan and Ayaz. Trabzonspor starts with Onana, Salih, Chibuike, Lovik, Pina, Oulai, Bouchouari, Zubkov, Muci, Nwakaeme and Onuachu. The match is set to be managed by Ali Yılmaz, with Mehmet Kısa and Gökhan Barcın as assistants, Buğra Taşkınsoy as fourth official and Özgür Yankaya in the VAR room.
The assignment of that crew underlines how tightly balanced the fixture is expected to be. A semifinal with a final on the other side usually leaves no middle ground: one club goes on, the other stops here. For Gençlerbirliği and Trabzonspor, tonight is not about building toward something bigger later in the week. It is the night that decides who keeps the cup route alive and who is done.
That is why the injuries matter as much as the starting XI lists. Gençlerbirliği has six names out, Trabzonspor three, and both teams must work around what is missing as much as what is available. By the end of the night, the winner will have done more than reach a final. It will have earned the right to meet TÜMOSAN Konyaspor with the cup within reach.
