Manchester United host Galatasaray at Old Trafford in their second Group A match of 2023-24 UEFA Champions League.
Victory will see Man Utd climb to second if Copenhagen fail to beat Bayern Munich elsewhere, whilst Galatasaray can go top if Copenhagen can avoid defeat to Bayern Munich.
Team News
Antony could return for Man Utd after a period of leave to deal with personal issues.
Sergio Reguilon is a doubt after he missed their defeat against Crystal Palace last weekend with a tight hamstring, having previously missed their Carabao Cup win over the Eagles days earlier with illness.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka (hamstring), Lisandro Martinez (foot), Luke Shaw (muscle), Kobble Mainoo (ankle), Jadon Sancho (personal), Tyrell Malacia and Amad Diallo (both knee) remain sidelined.
Galatasaray will be without midfielder, Kazimcan Karatas due to a knee injury which has sidelined him until November.
When is Kick-Off?
Man Utd host Galatasaray at Old Trafford on Tuesday 3 October in a 8pm BST kick-off, live on TNT Sport 1 in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Man Utd are unbeaten in five of six previous Champions League meetings at Old Trafford (W2, D3, L1).
- Galatasaray are winless in three previous Champions League visits to Old Trafford (D1, L2).
- Utd have kept two clean sheets in three home matches against Galatasaray.
- Antony has scored in two of Man Utd’s last three home matches in all UEFA competitions.
- Galatasaray have kept just one clean sheets in three away games in this season’s competition (W2, D1).
Prediction
Having shown signs of progress in the last fortnight, Man Utd reverted to their wasteful attacking type at home to Palace on Saturday with a lack of creativity and accuracy, whilst a moment of sloppy defending was clinically punished in a worrying sign of backward performance.
Galatasaray meanwhile can’t be underestimated given the Turkish club’s unbeaten start to the season but have been defensively vulnerable lately, with six goals conceded in their last four games which is something that Utd should look to target.
Another positive for Man Utd is that Galatasaray are yet to win at Old Trafford but with the Red Devils out of form compared to a fierce in-form Galatasaray attack – containing familar names like Wilfried Zaha and Hakim Ziyech, I do feel like the first goal will be vital.
If Utd get in front, they should have enough for the win but if Galatasaray take the lead then I don’t see the hosts getting a win, and it wouldn’t be surprising on form if the visitors clinch victory.
Prediction: Manchester United 1-2 Galatasaray
Result: Manchester United 2-3 Galatasaray
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