Galatasaray vs FC Copenhagen prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-09-19 16:45.
Appearing in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) group stage for the 17th time, as many as all the other clubs in Turkey combined, Galatasaray will be bidding to improve on their last such appearance when they failed to win a game (D2, L4). Even the neutral will be hoping for an improvement upon that too, as the three home games Galatasaray played out in that campaign accumulated just four total goals!
Galaâs three home qualification games to get this far (W3) were also mostly low-scoring affairs, with two ending 1-0, but given the 23-time Turkish champions have lost just one of their last nine European home matches (W6, D2), theyâll hope to fall on the right side of tight margins here. A 100% winning record at home against Danish opposition (W2) should reinforce that belief, a run that includes a 3-1 victory against Copenhagen back in 2013.
A 2-2 draw against NordsjĂŠlland in the Danish Superliga over the weekend perhaps wasnât ideal preparation for this daunting trip to what will be a hostile RAMS Park for Copenhagen. Their task here has been made all the more difficult by what boss Jacob Neestrup described as a âvery sad situationâ, as the influential Andreas Cornelius suffered a nasty looking injury at the weekend.
That injury comes at a far from ideal time as Copenhagen seek to improve upon a winless UCL group stage campaign last season (D3, L3), with all three defeats coming away from home and by no fewer than a three-goal margin. Thatâs unfortunately been a long-running theme for Copenhagen, who have won just one of their last 12 UCL away games in the competition proper (D2, L9), with seven of those losses coming âto nilâ.
Players to watch: Galaâs Mauro Icardi has scored in six successive club games, and he opened the scoring in his last four UCL group stage scoring appearances. Copenhagenâs Mohamed Elyounoussi may not be quite as prolific, but he does have two UCL proper away goals to his name from his time at Basel, both of which arrived inside 20 minutes.
Hot streak: Galatasaray have failed to score in their last seven Wednesday-held UCL group games (D2, L5).