Liverpool vs Galatasaray – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

The Turkish club hold a 1-0 advantage to take to Anfield. The Reds have lost their last three clashes with Galatasaray.

Liverpool Form

Liverpool have just one win in their last four matches. After four straight wins, they’ve had a dip of late. They won 1-0 at Sunderland and 3-0 at home to Brighton in the FA Cup. A 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest was a tad fortunate before smashing West Ham 5-2 as they dominated on set pieces.

A 2-1 loss at Wolves in the league saw a late goal leaked. They bounced back to beat Wolves 3-1 in the FA Cup before losing away to Galatasaray in the UCL last-16 first leg. On Sunday, they let a 1-0 lead slip as they conceded in the 90^th minute to draw 1-1 at home to injury-riddled Tottenham.

Liverpool Team News

Arne Slot will recall Mo Salah and Hugo Ekitike to the starting XI. Both featured as substitutes in the last match. Alisson is back from injury and Ibrahima Konate will be back in the lineup.

Alexander Isak is injured up front. Conor Bradley, Wataru Endo and Giovanni Leoni will play no part due to injuries.

Liverpool Motivation

The Reds are not defending well, and confidence is below par. They will be carried by the Anfield crowd and will be expected to win the match.

Slot’s side can’t open up too much. The defence looks vulnerable when left exposed, so a more compact and pragmatic style is predicted.

Galatasaray Form

Galatasaray have won ten of their last 12 matches in all competitions. After four straight domestic wins, they beat ten-man Juventus 5-2 in Istanbul in a famous victory. A 2-0 loss away to Konyaspor preceded a 3-2 loss at Juventus in the second leg. Galatasaray trailed 3-0 but scored twice in extra time to progress.

A 1-0 win at Besiktas made it three domestic wins in a row. They beat Liverpool 1-0 in the first leg after an early goal before a 3-0 weekend win over Basaksehir. They outshot their opponents 19-7 as they faced ten men for the final 34 minutes.

Galatasaray Team News

Galatasaray rested Mario Lemina and Gabriel Sara for the weekend win. Both will return, as will left back Ismail Jakobs. Defenders Metehan Baltaci and Davinson Sanchez are suspended for this match.

Wilfried Singo will start at centre back and Sacha Boey at right back. Leroy Sane is set to be left on the bench as an impact player.

Galatasaray Motivation

Coach Okan Buruk will go to Anfield and look to be rock solid. They will look to frustrate the Reds and avoid conceding in the first 20 minutes.

Expect them to sit back and hit Osimhen on the counter attack. At times, they will get men forward to test a leaky Reds defence.

Key Stats

• Liverpool have won 6 of their last 9 matches in all competitions
• Liverpool have lost just 1 of their last 12 home matches (7 wins, 4 draws)
• Galatasaray have won 10 of their last 12 matches
• Galatasaray have won their last 3 matches vs Liverpool

Verdict

This is going to be a close tie. There are no guarantees that Liverpool will progress, but they should get the job done in the end.

Best Bet: Both Teams to Score + Over 2.5 goals at 1.85

High Value Bet: Liverpool to progress after extra time at 7.00

Goalscorer Tip: Hugo Ekitike to score anytime at 1.60