Galatasaray vs. Atletico Madrid: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Stream, TV Info

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The first group-stage match of the UEFA Champions League is always an opportunity as well as an exciting moment, with each of the four clubs eager to make a good start to boost their chances of making the knockout stages.

Group C sees Turkish side Galatasaray host Spanish giants Atletico Madrid in the first round of games, arguably the two favoured sides to progress with Benfica of Portugal and FC Astana of Kazakhstan the other two teams. While the obvious aim is to win the game, both Galatasaray and Atletico might be forgiven for thinking that simply not losing in the first fixture, against a rival team for qualification, wouldn’t be a bad result.

Galatasaray‘s build-up to the game has seen them pay tribute to former legend Metin Oktay, who scored over 300 goals for the club across two spells in the 1950s and 60s, winning multiple titles along the way.

As for Atletico, the weekend defeat at home to Barcelona would have been a tough one to take; the Liga title-holders were far better on the ball and Diego Simeone was clearly displeased at his side’s inability to cope or mount a serious threat of their own for long spells. His post-game press conference noted that Barcelona’s rapid equaliser stopped his team controlling play, while he also had words for the important play of goalscorer Fernando Torres.

Simeone has noted that he has plenty of new signings, but he will take his time integrating them into the first XI on a regular basis until they are deserving of it. Per UEFA.com:

I always tell the new players that when I joined as coach, Koke wasn’t a starter. When Diego Costa came here after loan spells elsewhere, he wasn’t a starter. When Jan Oblak arrived, he wasn’t a starter. When Antoine Griezmann arrived, he wasn’t a starter. The new boys need to integrate as well as possible so they quickly understand what the team need. Of course the coach will see that even faster.

[Luciano Vietto] has the attributes the squad needs. He’s a good forward who can play as a second striker. He can get assists and goals and is a hard worker. Of course he’ll have to develop. Jackson [Martinez] is a finisher. He’s also very strong in the air and good with both feet. He’s a bit older than the likes of Ángel Correa, Griezmann and Vietto. He has a few years’ more experience and that’s what we need: people who are ready to play. He can put on the Atleti shirt and play.

Last season saw Galatasaray finish bottom of their Champions League group with just one point from six games, while Atletico Madrid reached the quarter-finals before being knocked out by Real Madrid.

 

Date: Tuesday, September 15

Time: 7:45 p.m. BST (2:45 p.m. ET)

Venue: Turk Telekom Arena, Istanbul 

TV Info: BT Sport Extra 5 (UK), ESPN3 (USA)

Live Stream: BT Sport Extra (UK), Fox Soccer 2Go, ESPN Deportes+ (USA)

 

The Teams

Galatasaray‘s season hasn’t started anywhere near as well as they’d like in terms of results; despite winning the Turkish Super Lig last season they have won only one of their opening four games this campaign, sitting in eighth place at present with only five points, already five behind leaders Fenerbahce.

Despite the early failure to consistently take three points, the players and manager don’t appear to be overly downhearted about the situation. Boss Hamza Hamzaoglu believes his team have been a little unfortunate to not get what they deserve and thinks the change in competitions could benefit his team, per the club’s Twitter account.

Likewise, Wesley Sneijder is sure that Galatasaray can bounce back and make a big impact as the season goes on.

Atletico had started their own Liga season impressively with two wins from two, including a 3-0 victory at Sevilla before the international break. The home loss to Barcelona, though, brought an end to that positive start and Simeone will be keen to see his team get back on the front foot.

Away from home and perhaps not needing to go as all-out for the win as Galatasaray may feel pressured into doing, Simeone may well opt to switch to a 4-3-3 for this match to counter with greater pace and get support for the forward.

 

Team News

Galatasaray‘s manager has already intimated there will be changes for the game, with the side struggling after not replacing Felipe Melo following his departure to Inter Milan late in the transfer window. Depending on his plans, it is feasible that Emre Colak or Jason Denayer could come into the XI.

Atletico Madrid have departed for Turkey without left-back Filipe Luis, though most of the rest of the squad is available. 

None of Miguel Angel Moya, Stefan Savic, Guilherme Siqueira, Lucas Hernandez or Thomas Partey have yet played a single minute for Atleti this season.

 

Possible Starting Lineups

Galatasaray (4-2-3-1): Fernando Muslera; Lionel Carole, Hakan Balta, Semih Kaya, Sabri Sarioglu; Jose Rodriguez, Selcuk İnan; Lukas Podolski, Wesley Sneijder, Yasin Oztekin; Burak Yilmaz.

Atletico Madrid (4-3-3): Jan Oblak; Juanfran, Josema Gimenez, Diego Godin, Jesus Gamez; Gabi, Tiago, Koke; Antoine Griezmann, Jackson Martinez, Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco.

 

Players to Watch

Galatasaray: Lukas Podolski

The German has been a bright spot for Galatasaray despite their uneven start to the season. Two goals in his opening four games, including the equaliser at the weekend, represents a reasonable return for a team who clearly haven’t clicked yet or found a balance between attack and defence.

If the Turkish side are to take any kind of positive result, they will need Podolski not only to attack the box and be a scoring threat, but also provide service to Yilmaz in the middle by attacking Atleti‘s full-backs. From the left, he’ll be up against Juanfran—a phenomenal defender in one-on-one situations.

 

Atletico Madrid: Gabi

For Atletico, the temptation will be to sit tight in their own half for the start of the match at least, denying the likes of Podolski and Sneijder time on the ball and room to operate. Sat between the two attacking midfielders will be Gabi, the right-sided midfielder of Atleti‘s central pairing, who has started the season well for the most part.

His ability to break up play but then also drive forward and support ensuing attacks will be pivotal for Atletico to have a say on the flow of the fixture.

Prediction: Galatasaray 1-2 Atletico Madrid

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