Victor Osimhen and Galatasaray host VfB Stuttgart in Istanbul on Tuesday evening, and the two clubs come into the game in very different places. Stuttgart are unbeaten in the Champions League with seven points. Galatasaray have three.
The game at RAMS Park kicks off at 18:45 CET. It is the first time the two clubs have met in a competitive match.
Galatasaray found their goals in France
Okan Buruk’s side lost their first two games of the league phase. They were beaten 3-1 at Sporting CP and then lost 4-1 at home to Barcelona.
The first win came on matchday three, when Galatasaray won 4-2 at Lille. Osimhen scored the fourth goal against his old club and did not celebrate. That result ended a run of five away defeats in a row in the competition.
The Turkish champions have also beaten Fenerbahçe 2-1 in the derby this autumn. The defence is still a worry, though. They have let in nine goals in three Champions League games.
Osimhen has eight goals for Galatasaray in the competition. Two more would put him level with Burak Yılmaz on 10, second on the club’s list behind Hakan Şükür.
Stuttgart arrive in good form
Sebastian Hoeneß’s team beat Viking 3-1 and then won 3-0 at Slovan Bratislava. In their last European game they drew 1-1 with Atlético Madrid. Jamie Leweling scored first, Julián Álvarez equalised, and Atlético finished with ten men after Morten Hjulmand was sent off.
Stuttgart have let in only two goals in three Champions League games. They also travel with confidence after a 4-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga at the weekend.
Old faces from Germany
Galatasaray have players who know German football well. İlkay Gündoğan won the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund in 2012 and has never lost to Stuttgart in seven games against them. Leroy Sané played for Schalke and Bayern Munich before moving to Istanbul. Osimhen himself started his professional career at Wolfsburg.
History is not on the home side. Galatasaray have not beaten a German club at home in Europe since a 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1992/93 UEFA Cup.
Our take
Stuttgart are the better team on paper this season, and their defence has been hard to break. But Galatasaray at home are a different story, and a loud crowd can change a game like this.
A home win would take Galatasaray to six points and right back into the race. A Stuttgart win would put them on ten points after four games.
Can Osimhen find a way past this Stuttgart defence? Tell us your prediction in the comments.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Victor Osimhen by Ottomanor (CC0); Okan Buruk by Zafer (CC BY 4.0); Sebastian Hoeneß by Jeollo (CC BY 4.0); RAMS Park by Antoloji (CC BY-SA 4.0).
