RFS vs Galatasaray prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – League phase betting tips on match 2024-10-02 16:45.
[p]After becoming only the second Latvian side to qualify for the main draw of the UEFA Europa League (UEL), RFS received a rude awakening on matchday one as they were beaten 4-1 by FCSB. That’s one of just two defeats in 90 minutes in their last 14 games (W11, D1), but concerningly, their last four such defeats have all come in Europe.[/p]
[p]RFS have, however, done well at home in Europe, triumphing in four of their last six such matches (L2), albeit those victories all came in qualifiers and against much weaker opposition than their upcoming opponents. It will therefore require a Herculean effort from coach Viktors Morozs and his team to overcome the long odds in what will be their just their third ever game against a Turkish side, although one of the two previous ties did see them claim a 0-0 home draw against BaĹźakĹźehir in the Europa Conference League group stage in 2022/23.[/p]
[p]Galatasaray responded impressively to the disappointment of missing out on qualification for the Champions League by beating PAOK 3-1 on matchday one in the UEL. That was the fifth successive game in which they’ve netted at least three times, and they’ve since scored another treble – this time in the league against KasımpaĹźa – but Okan Buruk’s side drew 3-3 to end a run of five consecutive victories. [/p]
[p]Gala will be confident of getting straight back to winning ways though, as they’ve lost just one of their last seven UEL away matches (W2, D4). The five most recent of those games saw the Turkish giants keep four clean sheets, but perhaps surprisingly, they haven’t shut out any opponent on the road since April. [/p]
[p]Key battle: Prolific defender Žiga Lipušček has netted in both of RFS’ last two games, while he was yellow carded in three of the preceding four matches. He will likely come up against Victor Osimhen who has hit the ground running since joining Galatasaray, registering six direct goal contributions in his first four games for the club (G2, A4), with four of those involvements coming in the opening half-hour. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Galatasaray have received the first booking in just one of their last seven matches. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Alex Bowmer[/i][/p]