Tottenham face Galatasaray next in the Europa League
Tottenham Hotspur are back on the road after two successive wins at home against Manchester City and Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup and Premier League, respectively. The Lilywhites’ travels take them to Istanbul on Thursday, November 8th, to take on Galatasaray in the UEFA Europa League’s first round.
The matchday four clash is arguably going to be Tottenham’s most difficult fixture in the league phase of the continental cup given how hostile games in Turkey can be for away teams. Moreover, Galatasaray have quietly built a quality team in recent months which is led by a lethal marksman in Victor Osimhen.
Nevertheless, after three wins in three matches so far in the Europa League, Ange Postecoglou will be confident that his charges can pick up a positive result against the Turkish giants on Thursday.
Team News
Galatasaray
Galatasaray have no suspensions from their previous Europa League matches that could be served against Tottenham, but have an injury issue to deal with. Ismail Jakobs has been ruled out with a knee injury and will not return to the fore for approximately another month, which means his participation on Thursday is certainly ruled out. One player who will feature, however, is former Spurs defender Davinson Sanchez.
They are on a run of four successive wins in all competitions, although a frail defence has seen them concede seven times in their last three outings. Offensively, Galatasaray will have to take their chances and will hope Victor Osimhen can exploit Tottenham while all eyes will even be on their top scorer from the Europa League, Yunus Akgun, who has scored thrice in as many matches.
PREDICTED GALATASARAY XI (4-4-2): Muslera; Ayhan, Sanchez, Bardakci, Yilmaz; Sallai, Torreira, Sara, Akgun; Icardi, Osimhen
Tottenham Hotspur
Like their hosts, Tottenham Hotspur have no suspensions. However, their injuries are compounding and as many as four players could miss out. Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Wilson Odobert will definitely miss out, while doubts persist regarding Richarlison too. Djed Spence is also injured but that does not matter in this context as he has not been registered by Spurs for the Europa League.
Brennan Johnson and Dominic Solanke returned to form at the weekend as they scored thrice amongst themselves in the team’s 4-1 success over Aston Villa. Son Heung-min could also start having been substituted over half an hour before the final whistle in the team’s previous match, which would result in Timo Werner being benched.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR PREDICTED XI (4-3-3): Vicario; Gray, Dragusin, Davies, Udogie; Kulusevski, Bentancur, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son
Match-deciding duel
Davinson Sanchez vs Son Heung-min
Given that Galatasaray’s full backs will play higher up, Tottenham’s left winger Son Heung-min will come up against a familiar face when attacking. Davinson Sanchez will know everything about his former teammate and the same also holds true for the South Korean forward with his Colombian counterpart – so it will be an enticing duel to watch.
How Son squares up against Sanchez will go a long way in deciding the course of the match as he is likely to be their biggest threat in the final third having looked potent whenever he has played this season. Galatasaray’s goalkeeper Fernando Muslera will also be a tough nut to crack, not just for Son, but for the rest of the Tottenham attackers.
Prediction
Galatasaray 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Galatasaray should have enough in their tank to trouble Tottenham Hotspur and probably breach their defence at least once. However, it remains to be seen if they are able to stop a formidable attacking unit which will be bolstered by Dejan Kulusevski’s and James Maddison’s inclusions in midfield.
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The Turkish side’s fanbase will create a hostile atmosphere but Spurs might have enough in them to grab a narrow win.
