Preview: Liverpool visit unbeaten Turkish league leaders Galatasaray
Just days after suffering their first defeat of the season, Liverpool travel to Istanbul to take on Turkish champions Galatasaray in what is expected to be a hostile environment.
By Sam McGuire
The story so far
The match sees the Premier League leaders take on the Süper Lig leaders.
Liverpool had been perfect this term across all competitions prior to their trip to Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon. Despite netting an 87th minute equaliser against Crystal Palace, the Reds lost the game, conceding in the seventh minute of injury time.
How they bounce back from this will be interesting.
Perhaps surprisingly, the Premier League champions haven’t played that well this season despite winning eight of nine. Likely caused by the squad overhaul this summer, the Reds are going to have to start putting in controlled, composed showings sooner rather than later. They aren’t going to be able to coast in the Turkish capital.
Galatasaray, meanwhile, have been perfect in the league, taking 21 points from seven matches. They’ve scored 19 goals and conceded just twice. Domestically, they are utterly dominant. However, in their single Champions League game this term, they were humbled by Eintracht Frankfurt, losing 5-1 in one of the shock scorelines of round one.
Recent form
For the Turkish side, results haven’t necessarily told the entire story.
For example, they lost 5-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt but the Expected Goals total for that game was 1.21 to 1.09 in favour of the Bundesliga club. Galatasaray even took the lead in what was quite an even game.
Then, in their last league outing against Alanyaspor, a game Galatasaray claimed a 1-0 win in, Okan Buruk’s side gave up chances with an xG value of 2.11. In reality, they would’ve been lucky to claim a draw, let alone snatch a win.
Liverpool haven’t been great though. Following the 4-2 win over Bournemouth on the opening day, Arne Slot’s men eked out seven odd-goal wins on the bounce before finally losing to Palace. They kept finding ways to win, even if performances didn’t warrant the three points.
Key Players
For Liverpool, it’ll be Mohamed Salah. The 33-year-old single-handedly tormented Atlético Madrid in the Champions League at Anfield, having six shots, creating three chances and finishing with an xG involvement of 2.1. He’s struggled in the league but Europe is a different proposition entirely.
For the hosts, all eyes will be on whether or not Victor Osimhen is deemed fit enough to start following an ankle injury. If he’s not, his deputy, Mauro Icardi, will be the one to watch. He’s the top scorer in the Turkish league this term with five.
Team News
“We’ll assess his pain and physical condition before thinking about the next match [vs Liverpool].” The words of the Galatasaray manager following Osimhen’s 10 minute cameo off of the bench against Alanyaspor. The likelihood is that the one-time Liverpool transfer target will start on the bench against the Premier League champions.
Other than that, the Turkish champions have a fully fit squad. The Reds, however, are without Giovanni Leoni following his ACL injury against Southampton. Slot will also want to manage the minutes of his key players with a game against Chelsea on the horizon.
Prediction
We’re going to go with a narrow 2-1 win for Liverpool.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.