Barcelona – Galatasaray, Picks and Tips
The Catalans regained their old form and began to renew their winning streak under Xavi Hernandez. Barcelona are coming off four consecutive wins, including that 4-2 victory at Napoli in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League play-offs that secured qualification for this stage. At the weekend, the Blaugrana beat Elche 2-1 thanks to goals from Ferran Torres and Memphis Depay (penalty). After 26 LaLiga games, the Camp Nou club is in third place with 48 points. But the gap to leaders Real Madrid is impossible to make up - 15 points.
On the other side, Moruțan and Cicâldău's team had two wins and two draws in four rounds of the Turkish Super League. That was until the weekend's 2-0 defeat at Konyaspor. Galatasaray are only 12th in the standings and are closer to the relegation zone (eight points) than the European cups (12 points). Domenec Torrent's team now reached the UEFA Europa League knockout stages after winning a group that also included Lazio and Marseille. The two sides have met eight times so far in European competition. As expected, the Catalans lead in previous head-to-head meetings (eight wins, two draws and one defeat). Barcelona have won three in a row, the most recent coming in the UEFA Champions League group stage in the 2002/03 season (3-1). Galata have never won at the Camp Nou and have managed only one draw, 2-2 in the 2001/02 Champions League. In fact, the "Cimbom" team has only one win in 16 matches against Spanish clubs, against Mallorca in the 1999/2000 UEFA Cup season.
Our recommendation tip for Barcelona – Galatasaray: BARCELONA TO WIN & OVER 2.5 GOALS @ 1.70