GROUP F gets underway at Euro 2024 on Tuesday evening, as Turkey square off with Georgia at Signal Iduna Park.
While this will be both sides' maiden match of the tournament, the duo will know that a win here could go a long way to securing a place in the knockout round.
That’s something Turkey have failed to do in their last two appearances at the European Championship, most recently propping up the pool with zero points at the 2020 edition.
Now under the management of Vincenzo Montella, the Crescent Stars will finally look to deliver on their perennial tag as dark horses.
Georgia, meanwhile, will be competing on Europe's biggest stage for the first time ever this summer.
Ranked 75th in the world by FIFA – the lowest of any side competing at Euro 2024 – few are predicting that the Crusaders will upset the odds by navigating their way out of Group F.
How the bookies view it: Turkish set for delight
Despite losing six of their last seven European Championship matches, Turkey are odds-on 8/11 favourites on Betfred.
However, a more attractive looking option is to back Vincenzo Montella’s men to score two or more goals at even-money on Betfred. Georgia kept just one clean sheet during the regular phase of qualifying, shipping 2+ goals in five of their eight outings.
Unsurprisingly ,Georgia are big underdogs at 4/1 on Betfred while a share of the Signal Iduna Park spoils is also deemed unlikely at 13/5 with the same bookmaker.
Head to head: History book dormant
Fixtures between Turkey and Georgia have been thin on the ground since the turn of the century, with the duo not coming up against each other since May 2012.
Turkey ran out 3-1 winners on that occasion, meaning they have come out on top in three of their overall five meetings with Georgia.
Last five H2H duels:
- 24/05/2012 (International Friendly) – Georgia 1-3 Turkey
- 07/02/2007 (International Tournament) – Georgia 1-0 Turkey
- 30/03/2005 (World Cup Qualifiers) – Georgia 2-5 Turkey
- 04/09/2004 (World Cup Qualifiers) – Turkey 1-1 Georgia
- 21/08/2002 (International Friendly) – Turkey 3-0 Georgia
Players to watch: Hakan the main man
A lot of Turkey’s hopes will rest on the shoulders of captain Hakan Calhanoglu. The classy Inter Milan playmaker hit 13 goals in the most recent Serie A season and he is 13/5 (Betano) to net on Tuesday
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who is the standout player of the Georgian national team, is 16/5 on Betfred to get on the scoresheet at Signal Iduna Park
Predicted line-ups
Turkey boss Vincenzo Montella will be without defensive trio Caglar Soyuncu, Ozan Kabak and Ridvan Yilmaz, who have all been ruled out of Euro 2024 due to injury.
Georgian duo Solomon Kvirkvelia Otar Kiteishvili are both rated as doubtful ahead of this Group F opener.
Turkey: Cakir; Celik, Demiral, Ayhan, Kadioglu; Ozcan, Calhanoglu; Kahveci, Akturkoglu, Yildiz; Yilmaz
Georgia: Mamardashvili; Kverkvelia, Kashia, Dvali; Kakabadze, Kiteishvili, Kochorashvili, Shengelia, Chakvetadze; Kvaratskhelia, Mikautadze
Anything else catch the eye?
With a feisty Group F curtain-raiser anticipated, the 5/6 (Betfred) about this fixture featuring over 40 Booking Points also merits consideration.
During the preliminary stages for Euro 2024, Turkey and Georgia collected more yellow cards than any of the other 22 sides that qualified for this summer’s showpiece.
Both nations will know how crucial this fixture could be to their hopes of progressing from the group so referee Facundo Tello should be kept busy on Tuesday evening.
This Euro 2024 match between Turkey and Georgia will be played on Jun 18, 2024 and kick off at 17:00. Check below for our tipsters best Turkey vs Georgia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
