Arguably the biggest derby of this stage of the UEFA Champions League qualifiers is the clash between PSV and Galatasaray. These two sides promise a fantastic fight in both legs, and we simply can’t wait for the kick-off. Both the Dutch and the Turkish teams were the runner-sup in their respective competitions, which is why they have such a hard path towards the UCL group stage. So stay with us for the next two or three minutes and read our preview for Wednesday’s clash at Phillips Stadium in Eindhoven.
Preview
PSV (-195) is without a loss in the previous 11 matches when counting in the final contests of the last Dutch championship. They played four games during the prep period, winning three and posting one draw. The most recent and the toughest test was against the Greek powerhouse, PAOK, whom Roger Schmidt’s side defeated with 1-0.
PSV likes to play open and offensive football, as they always did throughout their history. Fast transition, quick players, especially wingers and relentless running for 90 minutes is their trademark, and they aren’t backing out of the same.
Coach Schmidt will have some problems when it comes to creating a starting lineup, due to the absence of two best players, Denzel Dumfries and Donyell Malen, who simply extended their vacation following the EURO 2020. That surely disrupted the atmosphere in the Dutch team.
Galatasaray (+450) had just two friendly matches this offseason against Dinamo Bucuresti 2-1, and the other against Kasimpasa, 4-2. They, too, haven’t lost for the previous 11 matches, and the most recent five were all with over 2.5 hits, with both teams netting.
We need to remind you that Galata lost the title to Besiktas only due to goal difference and that these two sides had the same number of points at the end of the Turkish Super Lig.
The results are saying pretty much everything about how Galatasaray plays. They have an extremely potent attack, with Radamel Falcao and Ryan Babel leading the way. Still, their defense is a bit fragile because of the offensive-minded midfielders who often leave too much space for the rivals.
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Dumfries and Malen are not in the combination for this match, which is a massive blow for the hosts.
On the other side, two of Galata’s players whose name wasn’t revealed were infected with COVID-19. It would be interesting to see which ones they are.
Head to Head Games
The two sides met seven times, the most recent in the 2018 club-friendly game, which ended with PSV’s 3-1 win. Prior to that one, we’ve seen six UCL games, with PSV having a better record, four wins, and two losses. The Dutch team posted all three triumphs at home.
Prediction
PSV will be heavily handicapped with the absence of two of their best players. We saw that against PAOK already. Through Galata’s style of play is offensive, and we don’t expect to see low efficiency, which is why we suggest picking moderate scoring, that is 2 or 3 goals. The odds are solid, +100.
Here are the previews for more UCL qualifying matches:
Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
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Email: nikola@wagerbop.com
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