MATCH RESCHEDULED: Galatasaray vs. Tottenham Hotspur ‘New’ kick-off time, prediction, team news, lineups
MATCH RESCHEDULED: Galatasaray vs. Tottenham Hotspur ‘New’ kick-off time, prediction, team news, lineups
Seeking to make it four wins from four in the Europa League,
Tottenham Hotspur travel to Istanbul to face Galatasaray at Rams Park on Thursday evening.
While Spurs currently sit second in the 36-team table,
Galatasaray are only three places and two points further back in fifth spot.
Completing in the Europa League for the first time in four years, Tottenham are one of only three teams,
along with Lazio and Anderlecht, who have picked up a maximum nine points from their opening
three fixtures in this season’s competition.
A 3-0 win with 10 men against Qarabag on matchday one was followed by a 2-1 victory away against Ferencvaros on matchday two, before a second-half penalty from Richarlison sealed a slender 1-0 home success over AZ Alkmaar a fortnight ago.
Ange Postecoglou’s side currently sit level on points with Lazio at the top of the 36-team Europa League table,
while they have climbed up to seventh in the Premier League standings after coming from behind at half time to
beat Aston Villa 4-1 on home soil last weekend.
Spurs have now won each of their last six home fixtures across all competitions,
scoring 17 goals and conceding just four in the process, while they have also come out on top in each of
their last eight Europa League games in North London by an impressive aggregate score of 26-2,
keeping a clean sheet in their last six matches during this run.
However, Tottenham will travel to Turkey on Thursday seeking to avoid losing a third straight away match in all tournaments,
while their last trip to Istanbul also ended in defeat – a 1-0 loss to Besiktas in December 2014.
Galatasaray may not have made a perfect start to their Europa League campaign like Spurs,
but they have still collected seven points from their opening three matches and have provided plenty of
entertainment for supporters, with at least four goals scored in all three games.
A 3-1 home win over PAOK on matchday one, secured thanks to two goals in the final 15 minutes, was followed by a 2-2 draw with Rigas Futbola Skola on matchday two in which they threw away a two-goal lead in Latvia. The Lions then came out on top in a seven-goal thriller with Elfsborg a fortnight ago, winning 4-3 on home soil.
Okan Buruk’s side have since extended their unbeaten run across all competitions to 11 matches (W9 D2) after beating Istanbul rivals Besiktas 2-1 at Rams Park in the Turkish Super Lig a week last Monday, moving eight points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand on second-placed Samsunspor.
Galatasaray will play host to Samsunspor on Sunday, but they must first shift their focus to the Europa League and will endeavour to boost their hopes of reaching the knockout rounds for the third time in four years with a victory against Spurs on Thursday.
Success against English opposition had been hard to come by for Galatasaray, though, as they have won just one of their last six such meetings (D2 L3) – a 3-2 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford in last season’s Champions League.
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