Galatasaray vs Man Utd Prediction: Turks welcome Red Devils to new kind of hell

A cauldron awaits Manchester United at RAMS Park on Wednesday night (20:00), as the Red Devils attempt to salvage their Champions League dreams against Galatasaray.

Erik ten Hag's side are currently sat bottom of Group A and in real danger of exiting European competition, with even third place and a Europa League berth hanging in the balance.

A win for the Turks, meanwhile, would leave Champions League qualification in their hands going into their final group game against FC Copenhagen next month.

Team News

Saturday's 4-0 win over Alanyaspor came at a cost for Galatasaray, who lost former Tottenham Hotspur defender Davinson Sanchez to a hamstring injury which will rule him out of Wednesday's clash. Victor Nelsson or Abdulkerim Bardakci are likely replacements for the Colombian.

Former Red Devils winger Wilfried Zaha scored in that victory - his fourth in as many games - and he also found the net at Old Trafford in October. He could be joined in the starting XI by Dries Mertens or Hakim Ziyech.

Manchester United were handed a huge boost with the return to training of Rasmus Hojlund - joint top scorer in the competition - this week, while Antony is also back.

A lengthy injury list still includes the likes of Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Christian Eriksen, though, while Marcus Rashford is suspended following his red card in Copenhagen. Sofyan Ambrabat and Facundo Pellistri are possible replacements, depending how ten Hag shuffles his team around and if Hojlund or Antony are only fit enough for the bench.

Match Odds

Despite winning in Manchester, Galatasaray aren't fancied as favourites on Wednesday with a win for the Turks at 13/8. Manchester United are priced at 6/4 for a first-ever away win over Galatasaray, while a draw can be found at 13/5.

Both teams to score is 1/2 and it's 7/1 for over 5.5 goals; Manchester United's two away games in the competition have seen seven (both 4-3 defeats), while the reverse fixture featured five as Galatasaray won 3-2.

Galatasaray to win and over 2.5 goals @ 13/5

Manchester United's 3-0 win over Everton on Sunday was their third victory in their last four games but Galatasaray should pose a tougher test than the Toffees, Luton and Fulham, while the Red Devils have yet to convince in many - if any - games this season.

Bruno Fernandes and co were humbled by the Turks at Old Trafford, and the Super Lig team now have the added advantage of their home stadium, which should create a hostile atmosphere for a United side severely lacking in personality.

They're yet to win a high-pressure game this season and have routinely lost - heavily - against teams either playing in European competition or ones with European aspirations. Games against Manchester City, Newcastle United, Brighton, Arsenal and Tottenham are examples of that.

Despite their travails, United have shown their ability to score in the Champions League, especially away from home where they have scored three times in both games. Galatasaray have already shipped five at RAMS Park (three to Bayern Munich, two to FC Copenhagen), so there should be goals in this one, but the home side should have too much for a desperately poor United who are also without a host of key players.

Wilfried Zaha to score anytime @ 12/5

Galatasaray's attackers should be licking their lips at the prospect of coming up against United again, given the space and opportunities they were awarded in October.

A few spots are up for grabs but two players pretty certain of starting are Mauro Icardi and Zaha. The ex-Inter striker is understandably the shortest price - 5/4 - to score on Wednesday, given he found the back of the net in the reverse fixture and is their top scorer with 16 goals this season.

However, another player who scored in that win is Zaha, who offers more value at 12/5. As mentioned previously, the Ivory Coast international is in superb goalscoring form - four in four - and he always looks like a man possessed against his former club. It only took him 23 minutes to expose Diogo Dalot last month, and he'll likely be hoping the Portuguese full-back starts ahead of his former Crystal Palace teammate Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who has had more luck marking him in the past.

Regardless, I expect Galatasaray to pose huge problems to the United defence from the get-go, and Zaha could find himself with another presentable chance to put one over his old side.

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