Barcelona will aim to put one foot into the quarter-finals of the Europa League when Galatasaray pay a visit to Camp Nou for the first leg of their last-16 battle on Thursday night.
Xavi’s side saw off Napoli 5-3 on aggregate in the playoff rounds to make it this far and keep their hopes of European silverware and a return to the Champions League alive. For Galatasaray, the Europa League provides an escape from their terrible domestic situation. They’re currently 12th in the Turkish league, but they won their Europa League group to reach this point.
There was a time not that long ago when Barcelona and Galatasaray would both be in the hat for the knockout stages of the Champions League, but Xavi is now navigating the unfamiliar territory of the Europa League, which the club took to quite quickly in the playoff round.
Form Guide: Barcelona
After being held to a 1-1 draw by Napoli at home in the first leg of their playoff tie, La Blaugrana dusted off their best shooting boots to claim a 4-2 win in Naples and advance to the last-16, and things may finally be starting to look up for the Catalan club.
Ferran Torres and Memphis Depay both came off the bench to steer Barcelona to a 2-1 win against Elche in the weekend’s La Liga fixture, which represented the Blaugrana’s fourth win on the bounce in all competitions as Xavi weaves his magic.
Barca’s unbeaten streak in all competitions now stands at eight matches since the defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey back in January.
Form Guide: Galatasaray
Still unbeaten in the 2021-22 Europa League, Galatasaray’s group with Marseille, Lazio, and Lokomotiv Moscow was hardly a cakewalk, but the Turkish giants amassed 12 points from a possible 18 to qualify for the last-16 stage as group winners.
This week’s visitors to Camp Nou could not keep the momentum going domestically, though, as they embarked on an alarming five-game losing streak across league and cup competition before seemingly turning a corner with the appointment of Domenec Torrent to replace Fatih Terim.
How the match could go
The first leg of this clash will be played at the iconic Camp Nou. This season, even though they have had some disappointing results early, Barcelona have been very good at home. In their last five games at home in the La Liga, Barcelona won four and lost just one, but that loss was to Real Betis, a team contending for the top four in Spain.
Their first leg versus Napoli ended in a 1-1 draw at home, but Barcelona were much better in that game and ended up winning the return leg 4-2 away from home. Now, they are facing a much less intimidating opponent in Galatasaray, so there should be no problems.
With all due respect to the Turkish team, they are having a rough season, made even tougher by them drawing Barcelona in the round of 16 of the Europa League. After finishing second in the Turkish championship last season, they are currently 12th, with an incredibly poor run of form.
Betting Predictions
Barcelona to Win
Barcelona have shown real improvement since Xavi came in as manager and they’ll fancy their chances of winning this tournament. The Catalans have not lost a game inside 90 minutes in 17 and has won their last four heading into this match; three of those wins have been won by a margin greater than one goal. Meanwhile, Galatasaray have been in mixed form with their away form in particular rather poor; they’ve lost three of their last five on the road with each of those defeats being by at least a two-goal margin. The sides actually met in the Champions League back in the 2002/03 season; Barca won both meetings by more than one goal. Bet9ja have 1.13, 1xbet have 1.16 and Paripesa have 1.16 odds.
Over 3.5 Goals
Backing this game to go over 3.5 goals is a little ambitious but the step-up in odds compared to over 2.5 make the value on offer hugely appealing. Barcelona have gone over 3.5 in three of their last five games. Galatasaray meanwhile has gone over the 3.5 mark in two of their past three games. On top of that, whilst we fully expect the hosts to be asking most of the questions in this game and neither boasts a watertight defense; Barca have kept one clean sheet in five games with Galatasaray not keeping any in the same time. Bet9ja have 2.02 odds, Paripesa have 2.13 and 1xbet have 2.13 odds.
Anytime Goalscorer (Barcelona)
Ferran Torres
The Spaniard scored Barcelona’s opener over the weekend, and also did the same in their last UEL home game. Today, he would be at the forefront of the attack as he has been rested a little before this game, this is making us know he will be featured heavily upfront for his side. After recently opening his La Liga account with an important winning goal, he’ll be full of confidence here today. Bet9ja have 2.10 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 2.10.
Aubameyang
The Gabonese international seems to have found great form with his new team since his move to Spain. He is on a roll with 5 goals in seven games for the Spanish giants he would be looking to score in successive games after his goal against Napoli. Some form of experience in this competition would also count here today. Bet9ja have 1.70 odds and Paripesa have 1.72 odds for him to score.
Anytime Goalscorer (Napoli)
Kerem
Galatasaray will pray for an impact from Kerem Aktürkoglu, who scored the winner in their lone-away UEL group win this season. A youngster with a seemingly good eye for goal would be providing a threat up front for Galatasaray upfront. Bet9ja have 6.50 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 10.0.
Mostafa Mohammed
The Egyptian Center forward is the one with the second-most goals in this Galatasaray team. He hasn’t opened his account yet in this season’s Europa League but for his side to have a chance he’ll have to be among the goals. Bet9ja have 6.00 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 6.00.
Football Lover. All-round junkie of the beautiful game. Could be found watching football most of the time. If not he’s writing about them or making some punditry you don’t agree with. A certain bias for Arsenal and Santos FC.
