GALATASARAY VS. LIVERPOOL
| Saturday, September 30th |
Champions League | Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi, TUR
8PM BST/3PM EST
Though Galatasaray have been unimpeachable domestically thus far this season, they were — to borrow Arne Slot’s words — “unlucky” to ship five on the first matchday of this competition, losing 5-1 to Frankfurt in Germany (Frankfurt managed five goals on an xG of 1.21). Galatasaray have a strong record at home in Europe, having lost only three of their last 19 home games. They have not won any of the last seven,
however, recording four draws and three defeats.
Historically, Galatasaray and Liverpool are on even footing: of the four meetings, Galatasaray have won one, Liverpool have won one, and two have been draws, though the last time these sides met was almost two decades ago. Perhaps underscoring the time passed, Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk was on the pitch for the last meeting between the two clubs, a home win in December 2006 in Türkiye. He has been at the head of the club for just over three years now.
There are questions over the fitness of Galatasaray danger man Victor Osimhen, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury on-and-off since the international break, playing just 10 minutes in his last outing. Should he be unfit for Tuesday’s match, Liverpool will need to watch out for the top scorer thus far in the Turkish top flight, Argentine Mauro Icardi, previously of PSG and Inter Milan.
In perhaps unwelcome news for a Liverpool side who have struggled against defensive organization, Galatasaray have conceded little thus far this season, looking to make it hard for opponents to create. Liverpool’s attack has yet to truly “click” yet this season, and their next opponents will seek to continue the issue.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Alisson; Bradley, Konaté, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Wirtz, Mac Allister; Salah, Ekitiké, Gakpo
Federico Chiesa did not make the trip to Türkiye due to a minor injury per Liverpool head coach Arne Slot, who otherwise has no new injuries to report. Hugo Ekitiké, who foolishly got himself suspended for last weekend’s match, will come in fresh for this one and will likely start.
The Reds suffered a shock loss to Crystal Palace, with the result less of a shock than the overall performance, with no outfield players able to claim a good performance. Slot’s side will want to show this performance as a blip rather than any deeper issue, though Liverpool will also be balancing fitness levels with the need for results. Given the length of travel, the Saturday-to-Tuesday turnaround will feel tight, and Liverpool have another challenging fixture in London to look forward to next Saturday. Given the league phase structure, this match is arguably less important than the two league matches that bookend it, and dropped points against Crystal Palace add to the pressure coming on Saturday. Liverpool now sit only two points above Arsenal, who bypassed their own difficult away test this past weekend and get to stay in London for the Champions League and to face struggling West Ham on Saturday.
Given all of this, Slot could do some rotation in Türkiye, with one of his hard-working midfielders at least likely to catch a rest. Since Alexis Mac Allister has seemed out of form thus far he might benefit from some minutes; Ryan Gravenberch or Dominik Szoboszlai might be rested for some or all of this one, as terrifying as that sounds. Curtis Jones will want to have some time on the pitch, and has thus far done enough to probably deserve a start. Joe Gomez might get some minutes, though Ibrahima Konaté, who saw some time on the bench and thus some rest this weekend, might well start to make amends for a weirdly bad performance in London. The Liverpool head coach will also have decisions to make at fullback, with Andy Robertson possibly due some minutes (notably Miloš Kerkez is the only Liverpool player to feature in every match this season). Slot could well share minutes between the likes of Jeremie Frimpong, Conor Bradley, and Szoboszlai on the other side of the pitch, with only Szoboszlai really having an argument for strong showings in that position this season (though he also has a strong argument for a rest).
It seems likely that Florien Wirtz will again start, with the Champions League feeling more his speed than the Premier League as yet. Given the importance of Saturday, Slot surely has no easy decisions to make.
In terms of statistics, Mohamed Salah is two goals away from reaching 250 in all competitions for the club, and is perhaps due a truly good performance.
The Managers Have Their Say
Arne Slot: “[In Türkiye] they have seven wins [from seven], only conceded two and scored a lot of goals. They know what it takes to win the league and a game, so we have to be prepared.”
Okan Buruk: “It’s important not to show fear, to show this unity, and to think the same way when we have the ball and when the opponent has the ball. They’re especially good with the ball, but they’re incredibly quick in transition. We’ll consider all of this, as well as our opponent’s attacking strengths, and take precautions against them. We’ll give it our all and try to put the opponent in a difficult situation.”
The Officials
Referee: Clément Turpin (FRA) Assistant referees: Nicolas Danos (FRA)& Benjamin Pages (FRA) Fourth official: Jérémy Stinat (FRA) Video Assistant Referee: Jérôme Brisard (FRA) Assistant VAR: Mathieu Vernice (FRA)
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