Man Utd vs Galatasaray preview, team news, tickets and prediction

Manchester United will be looking to get back to winning ways when they take on Galatasaray at Old Trafford in the group stages of the Champions League this evening.

The Red Devils frustrating season sunk to a new low at the weekend when they slumped to a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Crystal Palace. Joachim Andersen’s superb strike midway through the first half gave Palace the lead. Despite boasting 78% possession and creating 19 shots at goal, United couldn’t find an equaliser and Roy Hodgson’s men took all three points back to London.

It was Man Utd’s fourth Premier League defeat in their opening seven games, and they’ve taken just nine points so far making it their worst start to a league season in 34 years. United languish down in 10th position in the table and the pressure is mounting on Erik ten Hag to get their campaign back on track with a win over Galatasaray on Tuesday night.

Manchester United did manage to win back-to-back games before Saturday’s loss. They edged past Burnley 1-0 at Turf Moor in the league before thrashing Palace 3-0 in the EFL Cup 3rd round – which came just four days before the Eagles got revenge with victory in their league encounter. However, they suffered three defeats on the bounce in before those victories. They slumped to consecutive 3-1 defeats to Brighton and Arsenal in the league before losing 4-3 away to Bayern Munich in their Champions League group stage opener, so it was a disastrous September for the Manchester giants.

While the result at the Allianz Arena on matchday 1 gives the impression it was a close game, it was anything but. Bayern dominated for most of the match and should have ran-out comfortable victors with a late brace from Casemiro taking the shine off what was an excellent performance from the Bundesliga champions.

Ten Hag will be under no illusions that tonight’s game is must win as Manchester United look to get their first points on the board in the race to progress to the knockout stages of the Champions League. It would be a disaster for them to miss out and drop down to the Europa League, so United desperately need a win over Galatasaray at Old Trafford.

The Turkish giants head to Manchester off the back of a 2-1 win over Ankaragucu which has left them sitting top of their domestic league table. They are unbeaten in all competitions this season having won six of their seven Super Lig matches while they drew 2-2 with Copenhagen in their opening Group A game in the Champions League.

They also have players who can cause Man Utd plenty of problems, with the likes of Mauro Icardi and former United player Wilfried Zaha in attack, so they shouldn’t be underestimated. However, Galatasaray’s record in England should give United cause for optimism as they haven’t won in their previous 10 games on English soil, losing seven and drawing three. They have also lost 14 of their last 17 away games in the Champions League so they certainly don’t travel well.

Tickets

Despite their poor form, Old Trafford is still expected to be packed for this game with official tickets sold out week ago. However, you can still buy sold-out Champions League tickets at seatsnet.com if you want to try and watch the game in person.

For those who aren’t lucky enough to get hold of a ticket, you’ll still be able to watch all the action as it happens as the game will be broadcast live on TNT Sport. Subscribers can watch the match on TV, or stream via the app on their smartphone or tablet device.

Team news

Manchester United continue to have plenty of injury worries heading into this game. Lisandro Martinez is the latest long-term victim as the Argentinean international is facing a spell on the sidelines after aggravating a foot injury last week. Martinez initially picked up the problem during the defeat to Arsenal in early September but played through the pain and ultimately made the injury worse, so he’s expected to be out for at least the next two months.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka is still working his way back from a thigh injury that’s kept him out in recent matches while Luke Shaw is still facing weeks on the treatment table. Fellow left-back Tyrell Malacia is also still recovering from a knee injury that’s kept him out for the last month while youngster Kobbie Mainoo is out with an ankle problem. But Sergio Reguilon could return after missing the Palace game with a minor knock.

Jadon Sancho is still suspended as his fall-out with ten Hag rumbles on. The England international has been frozen out of the first team since his public bust-up with his manager last month and he won’t be allowed back to first team training until he apologises. However, there is better news regarding Antony as the Brazilian is back in training after being given time away from football to deal with domestic abuse allegations against him by a former partner.

As for Galatasaray, they’ll be without Kazimcan Karatas due to injury while former Chelsea attacker Hakim Ziyech is also a major doubt having missed the weekend’s action due to a knock.

Likely line-ups

Ten Hag is likely to mix things up for the game off the back of Saturday’s poor performance against Crystal Palace. Reguilon could return at left-back which would allow Sofyan Amrabat to move into his more familiar central midfield position.

Mason Mount could then move out to the right wing with youngster Fererico Pellistri dropping out. Anthony Martial is pushing for a recall but Rasmus Hojlund should keep his place up front. Victor Lindelof is expected to keep his place in defence ahead of Harry Maguire.

For Galatasaray, Icardi is the dangerman as he’s scored 10 goals in 12 appearances this season. Zaha will also be out to impress his former employers and he should start after scoring at the weekend.

Possible Man Utd XI:  Onana; Dalot, Varane, Lindelof, Reguilon; Casemiro, Amrabat; Fernandes, Mount, Rashford; Hojlund

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

Prediction

The pressure is on Man Utd to respond to Saturday’s loss and while Galatasaray shouldn’t be underestimated as they have the potential to cause them problems, there poor away form in England will give the hosts confidence.

The Old Trafford faithful appear to still be behind ten Hag and the Dutch boss will want them fully behind the players to held them secure a much needed win tonight. We’re predicting a routine victory for the Red Devils. Man Utd 2-0 Galatasaray