Galatasaray will get their Champions League qualification campaign underway this week when they head to Vilniaus LFF stadionas to take on FK Zalgiris in the first leg of the second round of qualifiers on Tuesday evening.
After a stalemate on their home patch, the hosts managed to overcome Struga 2-1 in the second leg of the first qualifying round, while Galatasaray will be playing their first match of the European season in this one.
Match preview
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The hosts dominated both legs in the previous round against Struga but were wasteful in front of goal and were almost made to pay the ultimate price when they went 1-0 down in the second leg after failing to find the target in the first match.
Yuri Kendysh kept his side in the tie with a 78th-minute equaliser, but they required a late own goal by Sava Radic to save them from a penalty shootout and secure their progress.
Zalgiris earned their place at these qualifiers after lifting their third successive A Lyga title last season, recording 84 points in their 36 matches, 21 points clear of Kauno Zalgiris, who finished in second.
However, this season did not go according to plan in the early stages, and they now find themselves being fiercely contested by Panevezys, who are right on their heels and level on points while also having two games in hand on the defending champions.
Vladimir Cheburin's side won their last match 4-0 against eighth-placed Suduva, which extended their excellent league run to five consecutive wins and nine games unbeaten, dating back to the middle of May.
The hosts will need to bring the same type of form they have shown in their domestic league of late into this match against a heavily fancied opponent, or they could find their Champions League dreams brought to an end in this round.
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After what can only be described as a disastrous 2021-22 season, when they finished 13th in the Super Lig, Galatasaray bounced back incredibly last term to claim their 23rd league title, finishing eight points ahead of Fenerbahce.
During their 2021-22 Europa League campaign, the visitors were excellent during the group stages, recording 12 points in their six matches to top the group, and they were the only side in Group E that were unbeaten.
Unfortunately, in the last 16, they were drawn against a Barcelona team that were knocked out of the Champions League, and after holding Blaugrana to a 0-0 scoreline at Camp Nou, they were just edged out of a quarter-final berth by a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang goal in the second leg.
With the Super Lig season only scheduled to start in mid-August, Galatasary have played four pre-season games to date but only managed to win one while drawing one and losing two, though it should be pointed out that they did not field their best team in any of those matches.
Okan Buruk's side ended last season with a flurry of six consecutive wins while keeping five clean sheets in that time, and the Gala boss will be looking for another solid display here to hopefully secure an advantage for the second leg in a week's time.
Team News
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Kendysh has been instrumental for the hosts this season, and he will almost certainly continue in midfield alongside Yukiyoshi Karashima, who scored the opening goal against Suduva in midweek.
Mathias Oyewusi will be eligible for selection in this crucial fixture after he was forced to miss their last match through suspension for picking up four yellow cards in the season.
Following Mauro Icardi's return to his parent club Paris Saint-Germain, the attacking responsibilities will likely now fall on Dries Mertens, Kerem Akturkoglu and Baris Alper Yilmaz.
Ex-Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira picked up an injury against Hull City at the start of the month and will be out for a few weeks, while new signing Cedric Bakambu is not eligible to play for the Turkish side as yet.
FK Zalgiris possible starting lineup:
Gertmonas; Bopesu, Hnid, Vucur, Pavelic; Gorobsov, Kendysh, Golubickas, Karashima, Kazlauskas; Kehinde
Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Muslera; Boey, Ayhan, Bayram, Karatas; Kutlu, Demir, Zaniolo, Yilmaz, Akturkoglu; Mertens
We say: FK Zalgiris 0-2 Galatasaray
While Galatasaray have parted ways with several first-team players over the summer, they still have plenty of quality in their ranks and are heavily fancied to progress in this tie. The hosts will likely try to keep this one level for as long as possible, but we fancy the visitors to secure the victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
