Ilkay Gundogan will come up against Barcelona on Tuesday in the Champions League when his Galatasaray side take on Hansi Flick’s side in the League Phase of the competition.
The midfielder has been asked for his thoughts on the game and how Galatasaray can hurt Barcelona. Gundogan feels that his team do have the quality to cause problems and also feels home advantage may help.
“We have a lot of individual quality in our squad, especially in attack. But our greatest strength is the energy and drive
we can generate, particularly in front of our fans at Rams Park,” he told Mundo Deportivo.
“When we stay compact defensively and bring that emotional intensity onto the pitch, we can cause real problems for any team in the world.”
Barcelona head into the game after making a perfect start to the season, with Gundogan saying they are the best team in Europe.
“Barça are playing with a lot of dominance and confidence right now. To compete against a team in that form, you have to defend almost flawlessly and be very brave on the ball,” he added.
“You can’t just sit back and wait in your own area. You have to exploit the few spaces they give you on the counter-attack with pinpoint accuracy. Right now, for me, Barcelona are the best team in Europe and the overwhelming favorites to win the Champions League.”
Gundogan was also asked for some Champions League predictions and thinks Barca could go all the way this season.
“I never like to predict exact scores. What I expect is an intense, high-quality match where we’ll give everything to win,” he added.
“As for the final, the Champions League is always difficult to predict, but teams with the quality of Manchester City or Barcelona are always among the top favorites. Right now, Barça is the strongest team in the world for me.”
Barca kicked off their Champions League campaign with a 5-1 win over Feyenoord, while Gala lost 3-1 at Sporting.
