Barcelona continue their campaign in the UEFA Europa League with a home clash with Galatasaray in the round of 16. The Catalans appear to be slowly returning to their old selves and should have too much quality for Galatasaray in this first leg encounter.
Barcelona have put their early season struggles behind them and continue to improve under manager Xavi. While the La Liga title might be out of reach, the Europa League is beginning to look like a realistic opportunity for silverware.
The Catalans claimed a 5-3 aggregate win over Napoli to book their place in the round of 16. They are currently on a four-match winning run across all competitions, including a 2-1 victory over Elche in La Liga last Sunday with Ferran Torres and Memphis Depay getting their goals.
Camp Nou is also slowly becoming a fortress for Barcelona again as they have suffered just one defeat in their last five home matches across all competitions. They claimed a 4-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao in their previous fixture in front of their fans.
Galatasaray drew a bye from the playoff round of the Europa League after finishing top of the standings in the group stage. They are still unbeaten in the competition with three wins and as many draws from their six matches.
The Turks have been slightly erratic since the end of the group stage and travel to Barcelona with just two wins from their last 10 matches across all competitions. They have been beaten six times in that run, including a 2-0 Super Lig defeat to Konyaspor last Saturday.
Galatasaray have also struggled on their recent travels with just one win from their last 10 away matches across all competitions. Defending has also been a problem for Domenec Torrent’s men, who have conceded 11 goals in the last five matches in that run.
How the bookies view it
Barcelona are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 2/11 by 10bet. An unlikely win for Galatasaray is valued at 21/1 by SBK while a draw is set at odds of 15/2 by Unibet.
Head to head
Barcelona have never lost to Galatasaray, claiming three wins and a draw from four previous matches. The last meeting between both teams was a Champions League clash at Camp Nou in 2002 which the Catalans won 3-1.
Players to watch
Striker Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang has four goals in his last four matches for Barcelona and is priced at 8/11 by Unibet to get on the score sheet. Memphis Depay has also impressed since his return from injury and with goals in his last two matches, the Dutch forward could be considered in the same market at 7/10 with Unibet.
Galatasaray will be banking on Bafetimbi Gomis to maintain his recent scoring form having found the net four time in his last six matches. The striker is priced at odds of 11/2 by bet365 to get on the score sheet on Thursday.
Anything else catch the eye?
The goals are beginning to flow for Barcelona lately and following the 4-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao in their previous home fixture, a -2 handicap could be considered at 13/10 with betfair. The Catalans have also produced over 3.5 goals in three of their last four matches and a similar outcome is priced at 6/5 with bet365.
Barcelona are expected to be dominant throughout Thursday’s clash and could be tipped to win both halves at 5/4 with William Hill.
This UEFA Europa League match between Barcelona and Galatasaray will be played on Mar 10, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Barcelona vs Galatasaray prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
