Champions League: Galatasaray v Schalke match preview

A
look ahead to tonight’s Champions League fixture at the Turk Telecom Arena

Tom White

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Print
A A A
Related articles
Suggested Topics

Galatasaray proudly sit six points clear at the top of the Turkish Super Lig and will be confident ahead of this tie after a productive January transfer window saw the high profile arrivals of Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder from Shanghai Shenhua and Inter Milan respectively. Fatih Terim’s side have lost only one of their last 10 league games, while Drogba has made an immediate impact after scoring on his debut last Friday.

Visitors Schalke have plummeted down the Bundesliga from second in mid-November to their current position of ninth. Coach Huub Stevens was sacked by the 2011 Champions League semi-finalists in December, with youth team coach Jens Keller replacing him. Keller won his first league game 5-4 against Hannover, but has failed to win any of the last four in the league.

 

KICK-OFF: Wednesday, 7.45pm

 

PAST MEETINGS…

The sides have never met before.

 

STATS…

Galatasaray are aiming to become the first Turkish side to reach the Champions League quarter-finals since Fenerbache in 2008.

Galatasaray went nine away games without a victory in the Champions League proper, losing eight, before their 3-1 win at CFR Cluj. They have now won two away games in a row after beating Braga 2-1.

Galatasaray have conceded 196 European Cup goals.

This is Schalke’s 50 European Cup match.

Schalke have conceded 45 goals in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final.

Benedikt Howedes and Roman Neustadter have played every minute of Schalke’s campaign so far.

 

ODDS…

Galatasaray to win: 11/10

Schalke to win: 11/5

Draw: 11/5

 

TV: Live on Sky Sports 4 at 7.45pm, highlights on Sky Sports 1 at 12am on Thursday.

Comments

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Latest in Sport
Can Klopp stop Bayern?
50 things you need to know about the Champions League final
The neutrals' dilemma - which German side to back?
The Germans are coming: Biggest invasion since the fifth century arrives
City coach in waiting Pellegrini: Inside the mind of anti-Mancini
Klopp masters the crying game to forge spirit that can shock favourites Bayern
Why Manchester City were willing to fork out $500m on stake in MLS
Caption competition
Caption competition
News in pictures
World news in pictures
Sport blogs

New day (slowly) rising – As Brasileirão gets underway, Brazilian football stumbles, rather than leaps into the future

The average Serie A crowd last year was 13,000 - comparable to Australia’s A-League.

by James Young

24 May 2013 04:31 PM

iBet: Mercedes and Hamilton to roar in Monaco

Monaco is a street circuit where driver ability is more important than anywhere else and if we take ...

by Gareth Purnell

24 May 2013 02:00 AM

On The Road at the Giro d’Italia: It sounds sadistic, but the team live for the mountain stages

Three weeks ago as I drove off the Eurostar, I remember thinking what a very long time it was until ...

by Martin Ayres

23 May 2013 05:29 PM

       
SPONSORED FEATURES

Get your summer started with British Military Fitness

BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes

Visit York Nook Get reading
Prizes & offers Business videos

Visit York

Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world

Military Fitness Nook Get reading
Prizes & offers Business videos

Making reading fun for kids

Nook is donating eReaders to volunteers at high-need schools and participating in exclusive events throughout the campaign.

Military Fitness Visit York Get reading
Prizes & offers Business videos

Introducing the 'Get Reading' campaign

Get the latest on The Evening Standard's campaign to get London's children reading.

Military Fitness Visit York Nook
Prizes & offers Business videos

Enter the latest Independent competitions

Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.

Military Fitness Visit York Nook
Get reading Business videos

Business videos from commercial thought leaders

Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.

Military Fitness Visit York Nook
Get reading Prizes & offers

Johnny Marr talks relationships and reunions

He's worked with Modest Mouse, the Pet Shop Boys and Beck, to name a few, and recently released his first solo album. So why, wonders Johnny Marr, do people still hark on about The Smiths?
After the flood: From Haiti to Britain, one man has captured the devastation of our increasingly deluged lands

In pictures: After the flood

From Haiti to Britain, one man has captured the devastation of our increasingly deluged lands
Death becomes her: Meet the very modern mortician who champions 'cool' funerals

Death becomes her: A very modern mortician

Ever considered baking a loved one's remains into a cake or putting their ashes in fireworks? If so, talk to Caitlin Doughty, champion of the alternative death industry.
How long can the 'Keep Calm' trend carry on?

How long can the 'Keep Calm' trend carry on?

At first it seemed clever and cute. Then the 'Keep Calm' motif went mad, spawning endless offshoots.
The man who built Brum: A lament for the demise of John Madin's Brutalist Birmingham

John Madin: The man who built Brum

The architect's buildings were supposed to leave an indelible, futuristic mark on his beloved hometown but they are now being inexorably torn down.
School of chop: Learning the art of butchery at the Ginger Pig

School of chop: Learning the art of butchery

How do you butcher a lamb? Or make Mexican street food in a British kitchen? Christopher Hirst finds out.
James Pembroke: The man who's eaten everywhere

The man who's eaten everywhere

Few people know more about restaurants than James Pembroke, who only spent five mealtimes at home during his entire childhood.
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

The young JFK praised 'superior' Nordic races during visits to Germany
Banned Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof to attend Cannes Film Festival 2013, his first public appearance since prison

Banned Iranian director to attend Cannes Film Festival

Mohammad Rasoulof to make his first public appearance since being imprisoned three years ago
Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

An exhibition explores images how photography has shaped astronomy
Eat Spam and carry on: Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating

Eat Spam and carry on

Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating
Facial hair: Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence

Facial hair

Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence
The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

Whether they're for everyday use or to make your dining table look just right, it's worth getting a stylish shaker...
Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Chief executive says trophies will come if a 'core' of suitable players is in place
Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

The Bayern Munich forward tells Tim Rich his side have to shed chokers' tag after two recent final defeats