Real Madrid will be looking for just their second win in the group stages of this season's Champions League when they welcome Galatasaray to the Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
Los Blancos won 1-0 in Turkey in the reverse match last month, but Zinedine Zidane's side have only collected four points from their three Group A games, which has left them five points off Paris Saint-Germain.
Match preview
© Reuters
It seems unlikely that Madrid will be able to catch PSG in Group A, and the French champions would actually qualify for the last-16 stage of the competition with a win over Club Brugge in Paris on Wednesday night.
As a result, Madrid, Brugge and Galatasaray are likely to battle for the final spot, and a win for Zidane's team in this match would leave them in a good position ahead of their final two games with PSG and Brugge.
Los Blancos started their Group A season with a 3-0 defeat at PSG before being held to a 2-2 draw by Brugge on October 1. Zidane's side picked up a huge three points in Turkey last time out, though, with Toni Kroos scoring the only goal of the match in the first period.
Madrid missed the chance to move to the top of La Liga at the weekend as they were held to a goalless draw at home by Real Betis, although the capital giants are level with Barcelona at the summit.
They have also qualified for the knockout round of the Champions League in all of their previous 23 seasons, which is a competition record. That said, last term was the first time since 2009-10 that Madrid failed to reach the semi-finals or better as they were dumped out by Ajax in the round of 16.
© Reuters
One draw and two defeats - that is how Galatasaray have performed in their three Group A matches. They started their campaign with a goalless draw away to Brugge before losing their next two - both 1-0 - at home to PSG and Madrid, which has left them bottom of the section.
Another defeat on Wednesday would surely leave them battling for third position and a spot in the Europa League, although a win at the Bernabeu would put them firmly back in the race to qualify from Group A.
Turkish champions for a record 22nd time last season, Galatasaray have not been at their best in the early stages of their Super Lig campaign, picking up just 16 points from 10 matches to sit seventh in the table.
Fatih Terim's side did manage to pick up three points at home to Rizespor on Friday night, though, with that result following a 1-0 defeat at Besiktas. Despite a slow start, the Istanbul giants are only three points off leaders Alanyaspor heading into the next set of fixtures.
The Yellow-Reds, meanwhile, remain the only Turkish team to have reached a European Cup semi-final, which occurred back in 1989. They are also competing in the group stages of this competition for the 16th time, which shows their experience at this level of football.
Real Madrid form: LDW
Galatasaray form: DLL
Team News
© Reuters
Madrid will again be without the services of Marco Asensio and Nacho due to knee injuries, although it is thought that the latter is now not too far away from a return.
Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez are also both unlikely to feature with the attacking pair battling to overcome calf and muscular injuries respectively.
Zidane otherwise has a full squad to choose from, and there are a number of important decisions to be made.
Marcelo could return in place of Ferland Mendy at left-back, while Rodrygo Goes will hope to keep out the likes of Vinicius Junior to feature alongside Eden Hazard and Karim Benzema in the final third.
As for Galatasaray, Radamel Falcao, who has not featured since the start of October, is again expected to miss out with an Achilles injury, meaning that Florin Andone should continue at centre-forward.
Younes Belhanda is also expected to overcome a recent illness to feature, while Mario Lemina could be in contention with the midfielder back from a thigh problem.
Emre Akbaba and Sener Ozbayrakli are also on the sidelines, but the likes of Steven N'Zonzi and Jean Michael Seri are expected to feature in the middle of the park.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup: Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric; Hazard, Benzema, Rodrygo
Galatasaray possible starting lineup: Muslera; Marcao, Donk, Luyindama; Nagatomo, Seri, Nzonzi, Mariano; Babel, Andone, Belhanda
We say: Real Madrid 1-0 Galatasaray
It is shaping up to be another close game with Galatasaray certainly capable of causing problems. We just fancy Madrid to edge it, though, which would place them in a strong position in the section.
body check tags ::
