Galatasaray vs Manchester United Preview

Manchester United will look to win just their second UEFA Champions League game this season when they travel to Turkey to face Galatasaray.

The Red Devils visit Rams Park, sitting at the bottom of Group A after three losses and one win in their opening four games. Their hosts aren’t much better than the English giants, with Galatasary winning one and drawing one game (L2) so far, leaving them in third place, one point ahead of United.

So this game pits the bottom two in Group A against each other, with the winner here likely to go second in the group given that FC Copenhagen, who are currently in second place play Group leaders Bayern Munich.

Having secured a famous 3-2 win at Old Trafford in the reverse fixture, Okan Buruk’s men will fancy their chances here. They will hope to be roared on by their fans who create one of the most hostile atmospheres in Europe and helped them at the weekend when they beat Alanyaspor 4-0 in the domestic league.

However, Galatasaray have won just two of their last 15 matches in the UCL proper (D6, L7), showing that home advantage isn’t working in their favour at the continental level. But incidentally, their only win of this group campaign came against United, who they beat 3-2 in a breathtaking affair in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford.

Therefore, they will hope that the first-leg win will give them a psychological edge, even though it remains their only victory in the UCL group stage in their last 15 attempts (D4, L10).

Meanwhile, United come into this tie in good mood following a morale-boosting 3-0 win over Everton on Sunday to move to sixth place in the Premier League. That win has undoubtedly eased some of the pressure on Erik ten Hag.

However, the Dutchman knows that his team cannot afford to lose here, as that will rule out their chance of playing in the next round of the UCL.

Having kept three consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League, it is time for the Red Devils to put in a solid defencive performance in the UCL where they have conceded eleven times.

But their away form in Turkey or anywhere else for that matter isn’t inspiring as they have lost their last three games on Turkish soil and have won just one of their last eight away matches in the UCL (D2, L5) so Erik ten Hag’s men have an uphill task to rescue their rollercoaster European campaign.