We said: Galatasaray 3-1 Sparta Prague
Confidence is flowing through the veins of both sets of players right now, but with Sparta Prague only just returning to competitive action last weekend after a period of friendlies, the visitors may be at a slight disadvantage.
Coupled with the fact that Galatasaray often flaunted their offensive prowess in the Champions League, a Lions contingent brimming with talented attackers - some of whom boast plentiful European experience - should come good in a dominant first-leg display.
Read more.Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Galatasaray win with a probability of 59.3%. A draw had a probability of 20.6% and a win for Sparta Prague had a probability of 20.13%.
The most likely scoreline for a Galatasaray win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.82%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (8.5%) and 1-0 (8.05%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.3%), while for a Sparta Prague win it was 1-2 (5.37%). The actual scoreline of 3-2 was predicted with a 4% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Galatasaray would win this match.