Football Bet of the Day: Icardi can fill his boots in Champions League

For our Football Bet of the Day for Wednesday, we are taking in some Champions League action in Switzerland. Young Boys host Galatasaray (20:00, TNT Sports) in the first leg of the final round of qualifying, before the new, and bizarre, Champions League group stage format is finalised. 

Now, 36 teams will enter the same league table, playing eight games against different opposition, rather than the usual six against three teams - home and away. These two teams are striving to qualify for that first stage, and below I believe I’ve found some value.

Galatasaray are the odds-on favourites to beat Young Boys away from home in the first leg, but I believe we can pick out a big winner looking further than the match results. Young Boys won the Swiss Super League by 12 points last season, but have been incredibly disappointing in the opening rounds of the new campaign. 

They’ve had a stinking start, and currently sit second-bottom after five league matches - without a win. The champions have lost three and drawn two of their opening set of fixtures, conceding a whopping 13 goals in the process. It is clear to see that if they don’t get their act together soon, the chance of a third consecutive title will have slipped away. 

Young Boys vs Galatasaray Odds

Given they are struggling so severely domestically, the last thing they need is a European tie against a team as strong as Galatasaray. The Istanbul club have made some eye-catching signings over the last few years and it has helped them win the last two titles, after three years without a Super Lig success. 

Former Norwich number 10 Gabriel Sara has been the big summer arrival for £15m, but unfortunately for them, he is likely to miss this clash as his wife is due to give birth back in England. However, they still have a whole host of attacking talent to call upon, including Dries Mertens and, our main man, Mauro Icardi. 

If Galatasaray score, it is usually the former Inter Milan captain that finds the net. He finally left Italy in 2020 after PSG came calling, but just two years later he was loaned to Galatasaray, and after impressing, the move was made permanent. 

Football Odds

It’s been a cracking move for a player we know is massively talented. He also, as we saw in Milan, absolutely thrives on being the main man for a massive club. The Galatasaray fans adore him, and he has repaid them with goals. A lot of them. His current tally reads 56 goals in 75 games in all competitions, and he is a major reason why they have won the last two league titles.

He’s already scored this season, and his record suggests he will once again challenge for the Golden Boot in Turkey. At just 31, he is by no means ‘past-it’ and I’d suggest he is still right up there when we are talking about Europe’s elite number nines. Up against a shocking back line and a side low on confidence, I think the move here is to back Icardi to score two or more goals in Switzerland, and take this tie out of reach.

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