Sports Mole previews Thursday’s Europa League clash between Galatasaray and Tottenham Hotspur, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Seeking to make it four wins from four in the Europa League, Tottenham Hotspur travel to Istanbul to face Galatasaray at Rams Park on Thursday evening.
While Spurs currently sit second in the 36-team table, Galatasaray are only three places and two points further back in fifth spot.
Match preview
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Completing in the Europa League for the first time in four years, Tottenham are one of only three teams, along with Lazio and Anderlecht, who have picked up a maximum nine points from their opening three fixtures in this season’s competition.
A 3-0 win with 10 men against Qarabag on matchday one was followed by a 2-1 victory away against Ferencvaros on matchday two, before a second-half penalty from Richarlison sealed a slender 1-0 home success over AZ Alkmaar a fortnight ago.
Ange Postecoglou‘s side currently sit level on points with Lazio at the top of the 36-team Europa League table, while they have climbed up to seventh in the Premier League standings after coming from behind at half time to beat Aston Villa 4-1 on home soil last weekend.
Spurs have now won each of their last six home fixtures across all competitions, scoring 17 goals and conceding just four in the process, while they have also come out on top in each of their last eight Europa League games in North London by an impressive aggregate score of 26-2, keeping a clean sheet in their last six matches during this run.
However, Tottenham will travel to Turkey on Thursday seeking to avoid losing a third straight away match in all tournaments, while their last trip to Istanbul also ended in defeat – a 1-0 loss to Besiktas in December 2014.
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Galatasaray may not have made a perfect start to their Europa League campaign like Spurs, but they have still collected seven points from their opening three matches and have provided plenty of entertainment for supporters, with at least four goals scored in all three games.
A 3-1 home win over PAOK on matchday one, secured thanks to two goals in the final 15 minutes, was followed by a 2-2 draw with Rigas Futbola Skola on matchday two in which they threw away a two-goal lead in Latvia. The Lion then came out on top in a seven-goal thriller with Elfsborg a fortnight ago, winning 4-3 on home soil.
Okan Buruk‘s side have since extended their unbeaten run across all competitions to 11 matches (W9 D2) after beating Istanbul rivals Besiktas 2-1 at Rams Park in the Turkish Super Lig a week last Monday, moving eight points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand on second-placed Samsunspor.
Galatasaray will play host to Samsunspor on Sunday, but they must first shift their focus to the Europa League and will endeavour to boost their hopes of reaching the knockout rounds for the third time in four years with a victory against Spurs on Thursday.
Success against English opposition had been hard to come by for Galatasaray, though, as they have won just one of their last six such meetings (D2 L3) – a 3-2 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford in last season’s Champions League.
Galatasaray Europa League form:
Galatasaray form (all competitions):
Tottenham Hotspur Europa League form:
Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):
Team News
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Galatasaray’s only absentee is left-back Ismail Jakobs, who remains sidelined with a knee injury, while goalkeeper Fernando Muslera is available to return from a European ban and is expected to start between the sticks.
Former Tottenham defender Davinson Sanchez, who scored against Besiktas last weekend, is set to partner Abdulkerim Bardakci in the heart of defence, while ex-Arsenal man Lucas Torreira will likely start in centre-midfield next to Gabriel Sara – a signing from Norwich City in the summer.
Star striker Victor Osimhen – on loan from Napoli – has scored four goals in his last three games for Galatasaray and is set to start up front either alongside or instead of top scorer Mauro Icardi, who has six goals to his name this term.
As for Tottenham, Richarlison was forced off with a hamstring injury in the win over Aston Villa last weekend and he is set to join Micky van de Ven and Wilson Odobert – who are also nursing hamstring injuries – in the treatment room.
Christian Romero was also taken off early against Villa with a foot injury and the Argentine has emerged as a major doubt for the trip to Turkey, while Djed Spence will be assessed ahead of kickoff as he closes in on a return from a groin problem.
Ben Davies will likely deputise in central defence alongside Radu Dragusin if Romero does miss out, while Postecoglou will also consider handing recalls to the likes of James Maddison, Yves Bissouma, Lucas Bergvall, Timo Werner and Mikey Moore.
Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Muslera; Ayhan, Sanchez, Bardakci, Kohn; Torreira, Sara; Yilmaz, Mertens, Akgun; Osimhen
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Gray, Dragusin, Davies, Udogie; Bergvall, Bissouma, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Werner
We say: Galatasaray 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Both teams enter Thursday’s contest in buoyant mood and will fancy their chances of success, especially Galatasaray in front of a raucous home crowd that will create a hostile atmosphere for Spurs.
Considering Postecoglou could be missing his first-choice centre-back paring and may look to rotate in a few other positions, we can see Galatasaray taking advantage of that and securing at least a point in Istanbul, ending Spurs’ perfect Europa League start.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.