Galatasaray are yet to score a goal in this season’s Champions League and it could be another struggle for the Turks on Tuesday.
Galatasaray host Romanian side Cluj in Istanbul and it is a must-win game for Fatih Terim’s side following opening defeats against Manchester United and Braga.
I was quite impressed with the Super Lig side at Old Trafford, succumbing only to Michael Carrick’s early strike, but the reversal in front of their own fans against Braga was costly and they now face a huge task to qualify.
It is now four matches without a win for Galatasaray and overall their recent Champions League record at the Turk Telekom Arena is less than impressive either.
It is just five wins in Europe’s premiere club competition in their past 16 matches, tasting defeat on five occasions, and the bookmakers seem to have overestimated their chance of success on Tuesday.
No bigger than 1.70 to land the spoils, Galatasaray are struggling defensively at present and take on a Cluj side that is perfectly equipped to take advantage of any shortcomings.
Cluj qualified for this season’s group stage in style, winning all four matches of their two-legged ties with Slovan Liberec and Basel.
A brace of 2-1 away victories against that pair was impressive but Cluj surpassed those efforts with an opening 2-0 success over Braga and they have given themselves a very realistic chance of progressing to the last 16.
Avoiding defeat in Turkey will help their cause and Cluj have always performed with credit on their travels in the Champions League.
A stunning 2-1 win over Roma in the Italian capital during their debut season was followed by narrow reversals at Bordeaux and Chelsea while their away efforts in 2010, their last appearance in the group stage, were also commendable.
Single goal losses in Munich, Basel and Rome were nothing to be ashamed of and Galatasaray won’t frighten Ioan Andone’s men.
Back-to-back 1-0 league defeats only slightly temper enthusiasm as Cluj clearly raise their game for the big occasion and they showed enough against Manchester United, taking the lead through Pantelis Kapetanos before Robin Van Persie scored twice, to cause the hosts problems.
3pts Back Cluj +1 (Asian Handicap, vs. Galatasaray) @ 1.77 (188Bet)