The hosts under pressure in the second leg

After last season's league title and some sensational summer transfers, Galatasaray naturally has the ambition to reach the Champions League group stage. But for that they have to win the home game against Zalgiris Vilnius. In the first leg, the Turkish top club had to be content with a 2-2 draw. The pressure in the second leg is therefore clearly on the hosts' side. The Lithuanians, on the other hand, can play freely, although of course they have a unique opportunity. With a squad market value of almost €8 million, a win would still be a huge sensation.

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Galatasaray want to return to the Champions League

Since the 2019/20 season, the Turkish top club has not made it into the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. In between, they made it to the round of 16 of the Europa League. The success should now come back again, because after the championship title last season, they definitely want to qualify for the premier class this year. For this they also spent some money in the summer and made one or the other top transfer. Mauro Icardi's permanent commitment was followed by transfers from Wilfried Zaha, Angelion and Cedric Bakambu. The club has improved significantly in several positions and now has one of the best attacking trios in Europe with Nicolo Zaniolo, Mauro Icardi and Wilfired Zaha.

In the first leg against Zalgiris Vilnius, however, only the Italian Zaniolo was in the starting XI. This could now change in the second leg, especially Wilfried Zaha could make his first appearance. In the second leg, however, the first thing to do is to be better defensively and not concede a goal.

In contrast to the opponent, the hosts are only at the beginning of their season and have not yet played a league game after the summer break. In the game against Zalgiris, however, they will mainly build on the home strength of the past seasons. With 47 points from 18 home games, they were by far the best home team in the league last season. Only one home game was lost and 15 out of 18 games were won. They conceded less than 1.00 goals per game and scored more than 2.00 goals. The last home defeat that Galatasaray suffered was on August 13th, 2022, almost a year ago. Of course, this has an impact on our prediction for this game.

Can Zalgiris complete the sensation in Istanbul?

The reigning champions from Lithuania have only made it into the Champions League once and that was in 1993. However, the team has been a regular guest in the Champions League qualifiers for the past few years. In the last 3 years they were always represented there, once they even reached the 3rd round. This year it would be a big surprise if they could make it into the third round against Galatasaray. But they already showed that this is possible in the first leg when they scored a sensational 2-2. The team has plenty of international experience, after all they were in the Europa Conference League group stage last season.

Another very big advantage of Zalgiris is that, in contrast to the opponent, they are fully involved in the game. The domestic league started here in March and is now on the 25th matchday. Zalgiris is having another strong season, even though they may miss out on the championship title this year. They are already 6 points behind the leader of the table. The record after 24 games is still impressive. They won 16 out of 24 games and lost only 4 times. With 45 goals, they also have the best offensive in the league. 8 out of 12 games were won away. However, the last league game so far was lost at home with 1-2 against the current table leader Panevezys.

Galatasaray - Zalgiris: What to expect? 

Galatasaray struggled a bit in the first leg and only managed a 2:2 draw. In the second leg, however, they have their own fans behind them. Anything but a home win for the favorites would surprise us. However, the rate for this is not particularly high, which is why a tip on "Team 1 wins to zero" could be worthwhile. We also consider a handicap bet (0-1) for Galatasaray. This is particularly suitable for a combination bet.

• Galatasaray to win with 2 goals difference (Handicap)
• Galatasaray to win to nil

* All odds and markets are correct at the time of publication and subject to change.