Galatasaray vs Barcelona – A real buzz is expected in and around NEF Stadyumu tomorrow evening when mighty Barcelona visits Istanbul for the rematch of their UEFA Europa League last 16 round tie.
To make things easier for local fans in Turkey, Galatasaray held Blaugrana to a goalless draw at Camp Nou seven days ago, leaving things wide open for the rematch in their own backyard.
The atmosphere was topped off by Galatasaray’s 2-1 victory over archrivals Besiktas in one of the biggest derbies Turkish football has to offer on Monday afternoon.
Kerem Akturkoglu, the occasion’s hero, scored a brace, and all eyes will be on him ahead of the clash with the Spaniards. Barcelona will also enter the match on a high after a 4-0 thrashing of Osasuna.
Ousmane Dembele delivered another outstanding performance, this time with three fantastic assists, while Ferran Torres completed a hat trick. Xavi’s team also got a goal from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The Catalans have won five and drawn one of their last six matches in all competitions, scoring four or more goals in four of those six games.
They dominated the first leg as well, and it is fair to say that they deserved to win at Camp Nou. Can the Catalans capitalise on their superiority in the rematch in Istanbul?
The visitors should have plenty of space to do so, as Galatasaray have conceded at least one goal in each of their last eight home games in all competitions.
Galatasaray vs Barcelona – Betting Stats
The quality gap between these two teams is enormous, and we expect the visitors to confirm it on the field and record an easy victory without too many problems on Thursday in Istanbul.
Xavi’s men will want to finish the job as soon as possible, with an eye on El Clasico on Sunday evening. At odds of 2.05., we will thus back the visitors to lead at halftime and win the match in the end.
Galatasaray vs Barcelona – Head-to-Head:
Our Prediction: Away to Win
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