Match Preview

Real Madrid will face off in front of their home crowd again on Wednesday as they take on Galatasaray for the second and final time in the Champions League group stage. Real took the first match 1-0 in Istanbul just about two weeks ago.

Real Madrid are coming off a frustrating 0-0 draw to Real Betis over the weekend, a match they surely believe they should’ve won. They will want to bring forth that frustration into this match and use it to fuel a win at home.

Galatasaray remain seventh in the Süper Lig table, they have also yet to win a match in the group stage and hold only a single point currently. They are coming off a 2-0 victory over Rizespor.

This is a rather big match for both sides, as neither club have particularly fared well yet in this tournament. 3 points for either side is huge as that is what separates these two clubs. Real, who are second in Group A, also only hold a 2 point lead over Club Brugge. PSG is running away with the lead at 9 points already.

Injuries/Suspensions

Real Madrid are still dealing with some injuries on their end. Of course, both Nacho and Marco Asensio remain out of action. Gareth Bale remains sidelined as well, though it seems that he is close to making his return after missing about a month. James remains out as well. Vinicius is healthy, though he has been kept out of Wednesday’s match-day squad.

Galatasaray will be without Sener Özbayrakli, Emre Akbaba and Radamel Falcao.

There are no suspensions for either club in Wednesday’s match.

Potential XIs

Real Madrid

Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Rodrygo, Hazard, Benzema

Marcelo will likely slot back into the starting left back role after Ferland Mendy got the start over him against Betis.

Rodrygo appears to be the preferred starter in Bale’s absence. Lucas Vazquez is included in the released squad, though he may feature off the bench.

The rest of the squad will likely stay quite similar to what we saw against Betis over the weekend.

Galatasaray

Muslera; Mariano, Luyindama, Marcao, Nagatomo; N’Zonzi, Lemina, Belhanda, Feghouli; Babel, Andone

Prediction

Real Madrid—Galatasaray 2-0

Real Madrid are indeed the favorites for this match, even more so that they will be in front of their home crowd this time around. Real have the talent to get them all three points as they did in their trip to Turkey a couple weeks back.

Galatasaray have really struggled domestically this season so far. They’ve also really struggled in the Champions League. This is likely a make-or-break match for them, they must win if they hope to somehow get into the Round of 16 down the road.

Real also must view this match as a must-win. They need to capture another three points against a struggling side so they can distance themselves a bit more from Brugge, who will be playing PSG. They also don’t want to have Galatasaray win and be tied on points after Wednesday.

This is a pivotal moment for both sides. Real not winning at least one their first two tourney matches really painted them into a corner, though they at least have 4 points currently. They need another win against Galatasaray to give themselves some comfort in the Group A table moving forward.