Galatasaray take on the visitors Lokomotiv Moscow at the Turk Telekom Stadium in the Round 1 of the UEFA Champions League Group D. The match will be played in Istanbul on Tuesday, September 18th.
Galatasaray have been looking unstable in the start of the new season. Even though the team of Fatih Terim had looked great in the starting three tours of the Turkish Super Lig winning three matches straight with an overall 10-1 score in the fourth tour they were suddenly demolished by Trabzonspor with a 0-4 score. That big of a score was completely unexpected. By the 25th minute of that fixture the Cimbom were already losing with a 0-2 score. On the 30th minute of that fixture they got one of their players removed from the field by the referee. Galatasaray have quite a multinational squad with players from lots of different countries. However, there are almost no star players in the team. Overall, they are strong as a unit and also they often show good performances on their home field. The Yellow-Reds have all the tools to go through to the 1/8-finals of the Champions League. In their last three matches Galatasaray beat Kasimpasa with a 4-1 score, lost to Trabzonspor with a 0-4 score and beat Alanyaspor with a 6-0 score.
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Even though Lokomotiv Moscow are quite a tough team their playing style is not really suitable for the UEFA Champions League. They often lock up in their defense and wait for a chance in the end of the matches. The team of Yuri Semin won the gold in the Russian Premier League last season exactly with this playing style. However, the Red-Greens have been struggling this new season. The team barely beat the outsider teams Anzi Makhachkala and Krylya Sovetov Samara in two of their previous league fixtures. Furthermore, the team has been struggling to score lately, they scored only four goals in their last six matches. In their last three matches Lokomotiv Moscow drew against Dynamo Moscow with a 1-1 score, lost to Krasnodar with a 1-2 score and beat Anzi Makhachkala with a 2-1 score.
Galatasaray are the favourites in the lead-up to the upcoming fixture on paper. However, after they lost to Trabzonspor with a 0-4 score it would be scary to bet on them. It is likely though that the team of Fatih Terim will not lose in the upcoming fixture at least.
Prediction for the match: Galatasaray to win with 0 handicap.
