Last week, Barcelona failed to beat Galatasaray at home, despite being a -715 favorite. This Thursday, the two meet again, but this time, the venue is Nef Stadium in Istanbul. Even though they’re playing on their turf, Galatasaray players are expected to lose. Oddsmakers see Barca as the favorite once again.
Galatasaray vs Barcelona Odds (Europa League, 2022)
All odds are per bet365 as of March 15.
1X2
| Galatasaray | +800 |
| Draw | +375 |
| vs Barcelona | -278 |
Over/Under
| Over 2.5 | -164 |
| Under 2.5 | +129 |
Where and When to Watch
- Date: Thursday, March 17
- Time: 12:450 PM EDT
- Location: Nef Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey
- Watch: Paramount+
Can Galatasaray Cause a Sensation?
Galatasaray fans are famously passionate and super-loud when supporting their players. That said, playing at Nef Stadium is never easy, especially when big games are played. This explains why Galatasaray was 2-1-0 at home in the Europa League group phase. The teams they defeated at home are Lazio and Marseille, while they played a draw with Lokomotiv Moscow.
Galatasaray’s most recent home game saw them beat their arch-rivals Besiktas 2-1. Both goals were scored by Kerem Akturkoglu on assists by Mostafa Mohamed. The two have been Galatasaray’s best players this season in all competitions. They are the ones Barca should fear the most on Thursday.
A Must-Win Game for Barcelona
Last fall, Barcelona finished in third place in the Champions League group, thus failing to get to the UCL knockouts. Instead, they got themselves a spot in the Europa League for the first time since 2004. Dropping to the Europa League is seen as a failure in the eyes of Barca’s fans, but things could easily get even worse.
Barcelona is out of the Spanish Cup, while the chance of them winning La Liga is very slim, the reason being that the table leader (Real Madrid) has 15 points more. That said, Barca’s best chance of winning a trophy in 2022 is the Europa League.
Online sportsbooks think the Spanish heavyweight will achieve this goal, although going past Galatasaray isn’t going to be easy. They failed to beat the Turks in Spain, and now an even harder job awaits them on Thursday.
Galatasaray vs Barcelona Prediction
It would be a real shock if we didn’t see Barca qualify for the next stage of the competition. Still, Barca’s job isn’t going to be easy. In fact, we will probably witness a super-exciting game on Thursday, possibly with goals on both ends.
Picks: Barcelona to Win; Over 2.5 Goals