SOFADES, Greece (Interstat) — Esperos will try to end a three-game slide when it visits Sofadon in basketball Saturday. Esperos is 1-3 this season, while Sofadon is 2-2.

Esperos’s most recent outing was an 87-76 home loss to Chalkida. The visitors also lost at Gavrio 95-77, defeated Papagou 74-71 at home and lost at Anagennisi 87-79. Esperos has scored 76, 77, 74 and 79 points in those games, and its defense has allowed 87, 95, 71 and 87. The road has been difficult in the early schedule, with two of the first four games played away from home. Esperos will look to tighten its defense and find more consistent scoring against a Sofadon side that has alternated results. The team’s lone win came at home against Papagou, and it will need a stronger defensive effort to slow Sofadon’s offense.

Sofadon enters after a 96-85 road win at Panerythraikos. That victory followed an 81-80 home loss to AE Psychiko Athens, a 92-91 road loss at Peira Machites and a 70-61 home win over Amyntas BC. Sofadon has shown the ability to score in bunches, reaching 96 points in its latest game and 91 in an earlier road contest. The home side has split its first four games and will try to build on its most recent performance. Sofadon’s home games have been close, with a one-point loss and a nine-point win. The team has scored at least 70 points in every game this season and has reached 90 twice.

The matchup features an Esperos team seeking its second win of the season against a Sofadon squad trying to move above .500. Esperos’s best result so far was a 74-71 home victory over Papagou. Sofadon’s strongest showing was its 96-85 win at Panerythraikos. Both teams have had uneven starts, and the game could turn on which side controls the tempo and limits turnovers.

Esperos will continue its schedule after this game with a home date against NE Megaridas. Sofadon is set to visit Proteas Voulas in its next game. The meeting with Esperos offers Sofadon a chance to protect its home court and gain momentum in the early part of the season. Esperos will aim to recover from a difficult recent stretch and secure a road result. The visitors will also look to improve their scoring balance after mixed results through four games, while Sofadon will seek to maintain the form that produced its highest point total of the season in the most recent game.

Interstat’s game simulator projects Sofadon to win 74-65.