UEFA Champions League: Galatasaray vs. PSV Betting Preview, Odds, Prediction

Even though PSV finished most of the job against Galatasaray in Eindhoven, the second leg of these UEFA Champions League qualifiers won’t be a routine. The Turkish side will try to avenge a humiliating 5-1 defeat in the Netherlands, plus there have been some unpleasant scenes in the standings involving clashes between the fans, and that is something that always increases the tension, especially in Turkey. So, although everything seems solved here, this match is definitely a must-see.

Preview

Galatasaray (+180) boosted its morale with two transfer additions this weekend. Sacha Boey landed from Rennes, and the 20-year old right-back will be a massive addition for Fatih Terim‘s backline in the future. Also, one of the best Romanian players, Alexandru Cicladu, came from Universitatea Craiova, and he expects to take over the midfield in the upcoming season.

The Lions are playing open and offensive football, involving many goals on both ends of the field. The last six matches they played, including the end of the previous season, ended with over 2.5 goals and both teams netting.

Furthermore, only one game ended with under 3.5 goals, which is proof that Terim’s side really does like to play aggressively. Their loss in Eindhoven was the first one following nine straight victories, with the one before it coming in early April.

PSV (+125) didn’t lose over the previous 12 games, and their latest defeat was midway through March. Since then, the former European champions have posted nine victories and three draws. In six games during that span, they managed to keep the net intact, but we have to tell you right away that this statistical data might fool you.

The team from Eindhoven maybe isn’t as efficient as in some of its previous seasons, but they still nourish open and attacking style of play.

In eight of those 12 games, Roger Schmidt’s boys netted at least twice, backing our claim from the previous sentence. Plus, five goals against Galata are also telling a lot.

Latest News

There isn’t too much news in Galata, apart from those two transfers we already mentioned.

PSV will stay without Denzel Dumfries in the next few days as Inter turns up the heat to land the youngster. Also, Cody Gakpo might leave for Bayern Munich while Donyell Malen prepares to move to Dortmund. Apparently, neither of these three guys will play in Istanbul.

Head to Head Games

Erhan Zahavi scored three goals in the first leg, and Mario Gotze added a brace to take down the Turkish runners-up. The Israeli striker opened the game in the second minute, which pretty much shocked the hosts, who couldn’t recover from it until the end of the event. Emre Kilinc was the lone scorer in Galata.

Prediction

We won’t be too aggressive here, but go with the safest possible bet, which would be over 2.5 goals. The odds are -166, which might be insufficient for some of you, but do know that the risk for this pick is minimal. These teams simply play to score goals, and it won’t be different on Wednesday night.

Pick: Over 2.5 goals -166

 

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