Europe Champions League Round 2

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Manchester United vs Galatasaray Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Manchester United:
Onana; Dalot, Varane, Lindelof, Reguilon; Casemiro, Amrabat; Fernandes, Mount, Rashford; Hojlund

Galatasaray:
Muslera; Boey, Sanchez, Bardakci, Angelino; Torreira, Demirbay; Zaha, Mertens, Akturkoglu; Icardi

Manchester United welcome Galatasaray to Old Trafford on Tuesday night. Both teams failed to win their opening matches of Group A and another poor result could additionally complicate their chances for progress. The Red Devils suffered a 4:3 defeat to Bayern Munich. Erik ten Hag is under heavy pressure, United have suffered four defeats in the opening seven rounds of the Premier League, losing to Crystal Palace, Brighton, Arsenal and Tottenham. The Red Devils are close to the relegation zone and their fans are frustrated. Ten Hag has insisted that Man United are not in crisis, but it is clear he badly need a victory. Another defeat could provoke his change. To be worse, the Dutchman has big injury issues, particularly in the defense. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia, Kobbie Mainoo and Amad Diallo remain sidelined through injury, while Sergio Reguilon is rated as doubtful. Jadon Sancho remain out, with the striker still not training with the first team due to his fall-out with Ten Hag. On the positive note, Antony is back in the squad and could be involved in this match.

Galatasaray played a very interesting match with FC Copenhagen in the first round. Okan Buruk's side started very brightly, dominating possession and heavily attacking in front of their loyal fans. However, the Turkish champions fell behind to Mohamed Elyounoussi’s stunning strike before Diogo Goncalves doubled their deficit in the second half. Nevertheless, a red card for FC Copenhagen’s Elias Jelert changed the momentum of the game. Galatasaray scored twice from the 86th minute to salvage a 2:2 draw. Sacha Boey and Tete scored the goals that earned Galatasaray an unlikely point. The home fans were in delirium, however that wasn't a dream start to the Champions League campaign for the Turkish giants. Playing a home draw against the weakest side in the group is a poor result. It will be much harder against Manchester United and Bayern Munich. Buruk has most of his players ready, but Kazimcan Karatas remain sidelined through injury, while Hakim Ziyech is rated as doubtful. The later was only able to train individually on Sunday morning. If Ziyech fail to recover in time for this match, then Zaha could start against his former club.

Manchester United vs Galatasaray Prediction:

This is a must-win game for Manchester United. Ten Hag badly need the victory and I am sure they will attack from the first minute. But Galatasaray also have good strikers, they will try to upset the Red Devils. Mauro Icardi will lead the line for the guests, supported by Dries Mertens and Kerem Akturkoglu. The ex Inter and PSG striker is in excellent form, netting 10 goals in 12 appearances across all competitions this season. I expect both teams to score at Old Trafford.

Manchester United vs Galatasaray Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.76 with Pinnacle

 

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Napoli vs Real Madrid Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Napoli:
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Ostigard, Natan, Olivera; Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Politano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia

Real Madrid:
Kepa; Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, F Garcia; Camavinga, Tchouameni, Valverde; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior

Napoli will host Real Madrid in the most interesting match in this round of the Champions League. The clash will be played at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples. The hosts didn't start the season very well, but managed to register a trumping 4:0 victory over Lecce in Serie A during the weekend. The Vesuvians are four points behind leaders Inter Milan and it is clear they will not give up easily. The European start was successful, they beat 2:1 Braga in their Champions League opener. It wasn't an easy victory, Braga actually equalized in the 84th minute of the match, but an own-goal from Sikou Niakate in the 88th minute allowed Napoli to begin their 2023/24 European campaign with three points. Their ambitions are big and they will try to improve the last season's result when reached the quarter-finals. Just to mention, that is their best-ever performance in the competition. But coach Rudi Garcia has big injury issues ahead of this clash. He is without three first-team players, with Juan Jesus, Amir Rrahmani and Pierluigi Gollini on the sidelines. The absences of the mentioned trio is a huge handicap. To be worse, last season's hero Kvaratskhelia is out of form, while Victor Osimhen is not in best relationship with the club officials.

Real Madrid started the Champions League campaign with a narrow, but important victory against Bundesliga outfit Union Berlin. It was a difficult match, but Los Blancos managed to secure the victory thanks to Jude Bellingham. The former Borussia Dortmund player has impressive campaigns, both in La Liga and the Champions League. Coach Carlo Ancelotti is doing an excellent job and the fans are satisfied. Many pundits were suspicious about the team's performances after Karim Benzema left. However, Real have just one defeat, which came away to their city rivals Atletico Madrid. Los Blancos have otherwise won every match, including seven in La Liga, with a total of 21 points leaving them at the top of the table. The last two victims were Las Palmas and Girona. Ancelotti's men have scored five goals and kept two clean sheets. The players confidence is high at the moment and it will be very hard for the opponents. Of course, there are some bad news too, four players are sidelined through injury - Eder Militao, Thibaut Courtois, Arda Guler and David Alaba.

Napoli vs Real Madrid Prediction:

Napoli will try to win as they play before their loyal fans. The home advantage should not be underestimated, but I think it wont be enough. Napoli last faced Real in Round of 16 in 2016-17 season, with the Spanish side winning 3:1 both home and away. Generally, Los Blancos are successful against the Italian opposition - they have actually won each of their last eight matches against teams from Serie A. In addition, they have been victorious in 14 of their last 15 games against Italian clubs. I expect the domination to continue.

Napoli vs Real Madrid Pick: Real Madrid to win @ 2.50 with Everygame

 

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Borussia Dortmund vs AC Milan Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Borussia Dortmund:
Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Ozcan, Can, Brandt; Malen, Fullkrug, Adeyemi

AC Milan:
Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Thiaw, Hernandez; Musah, Adli, Reijnders; Pulisic, Giroud, Leao

Borussia Dortmund will host AC Milan at the Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday night. This is a match from the second round of the Champions League Group F. The matchday one wasn't successful for the German vice-champions, they lost 2:0 to Paris Saint-Germain. Kylian Mbappe scored the first goal from penalty at the begin of the second half, while ex-Dortmund player Achraf Hakimi set the final 2:0 before the hour mark. Borussia are at the bottom of the group and this game is extremely important for coach Terzic and his players. The current form is good, Dortmund have registered two domestic victories since the defeat to PSG, beating Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim. The players confidence is high and Terzic will try to replicate the home form to Europa. He has three injury worries ahead of this match - Mateu Morey and Thomas Meunier are definitely sidelined, while Marcel Sabitzer is rated as doubtful with the adductor problem he sustained against PSG. According to the medical team, this game comes too soon for the Austrian international. Left-back Bensebaini is eligible to play despite the domestic ban.

AC Milan will try to secure the knock-out stage again. Last season they managed to reach the semi-finals, but lost 3:0 on aggregate to city rivals Inter. The Rossoneri had a good start of the season with six victories in the opening seven matches in Serie A. AC Milan have outplayed Lazio, Cagliari, Hellas Verona, Roma, Torino and Bologna, but lost to Inter. What is worse, they suffered a catastrophe. Coach Stefano Pioli and his players conceded five goals, losing the 'Derby della Madonnina' with 5:1. Worst of all, the players confidence isn't high at the moment. The fans are also disappointed and many of them have lost the faith. Yes, Milan are sharing the first place in Serie A at the moment, but they are not optimistic. The goalless draw with Newcastle is the third match in the Champions League in which Milan players failed to score. Coach Pioli has some additional issues. New acquisition Ruben Loftus-Cheek sustained an abdominal injury against Lazio and won't play here. Ismael Bennacer and Rade Krunic are also out of contention, so Pioli is very handicapped. Mattia Caldara and Pierre Kalulu remain sidelined.

Borussia Dortmund vs AC Milan Prediction:

This is a very important match for both teams. Group F is also known as a "Group of Death" with PSG and Newcastle also looking for top-two finish. Nevertheless, I think Borussia Dortmund will win this match. The key reason for my pick is the home advantage. Dortmund fans are one of the best in Europa and their support is incredible. To be worse for Milan, Pioli has some important players out, so it will be hard to escape the defeat.

Borussia Dortmund vs AC Milan Pick: Borussia Dortmund to win @ 2.44 with Pinnacle

 

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Manchester United vs Galatasaray Pick: Both teams to score - Yes @ 1.76 with Pinnacle

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Napoli vs Real Madrid Pick: Real Madrid to win @ 2.50 with Everygame

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