The Champions League resumes on Wednesday evening and Galatasary take on Schalke in the first leg of their last-sixteen fixture (Sky Sports 4, 7.45pm). Galatasary go into the match at the Turk Telekom Arena as favourites and are in fine form following some shrewd signings during the January transfer window, while Schalke are bidding to end a woeful recent run of results.
Galatasary are currently best price 5/4 favourites for this first match with Coral, who price Schalke 21/10 and the draw 12/5. Current form would suggest that Galatasary are worthy favourites as they have lost just one of their last 12 in all competitions, while in stark contrast Schalke have won just one in 12.
The Turkish side are currently six points clear of Fenerbahce at the top of their domestic Super Lig and they return to Europe on the back of a three-match winning run in the Champions League. They may have only scored seven goals in six matches during qualifying from the group stages but their January signings have given them an added goalscoring edge.
Midfield playmaker Wesley Sneijder has come in and he will provide fellow new signing Didier Drogba with the ammunition. Drogba opened the scoring for his new club with a header in the 2-1 league win over Akhisar Belediyespor on Friday and he is 4/1 favourite to score first on Wednesday and add to his tally of 39 goals in 75 Champions League appearances.
The first goal market could provide interest this week as Coral bookmakers are offering to refund losing first scorer, last scorer and correct score bets on the match if the first goal is scored with a header. For a touch of value in the first scorer market it could be worth a look at 5/1 shot Burak Yilmaz, who has scored 11 goals in his last 12 appearances, as well as six of Galatasary's seven goals in the group stages of this competition.
Galatasary's goals have tended to come later on in games though and it's interesting to note that 13 of the 17 goals that Galatasary and Schalke scored during group stage matches came in the second half, with Coral going 11/10 for Wednesday's second half to involve over 1.5 goals.
Schalke may be unbeaten in the Champions League this season but their recent form has been truly woeful and they find themselves down in ninth place in the German Bundesliga. They sacked manager Huub Stevens in December and his replacement, Jens Keller, has failed to win in four games since.
Keller will be hoping Jan-Klaas Huntelaar can rediscover his scoring touch in this Galatasary v Schalke fixture and he is 6/1 to score first after notching four in his last five Champions League appearances. However, it is defensively that Schalke have their biggest problems as they have conceded 12 goals in their last five and the 11/8 for a rejuvenated Galatasary side to score over 1.5 goals could be worth a look.
Galatasary could earn a handy first leg advantage in this last-sixteen tie and they are a juicy 22/1 to win by a 3-1 scoreline. Schalke will need to rediscover some semblance of form quickly if they are to build on a European campaign that had promised so much earlier this season.
Galatasary v Schalke Form
Check the season's statistics for both Galatasary and Schalke, plus the odds ahead of Wednesday's match.
Galatasary Stats | Schalke Stats
Galatasary v Schalke Tips
Tip #1: Galatasary win @ 5/4 with Coral.
Tip #2: Galatasary to score over 1.5 goals @ 11/8 with Coral.
Tip #3: Burak Yilmaz to score first @ 5/1 with Coral.
Match Betting
5/4 Galatasary
12/5 Draw
21/10 Schalke
To Qualify Betting
11/8 Galatasary
8/15 Schalke
Correct Score Odds
11/2 Galatasary 1-0
9/1 Galatasary 2-0
9/1 Galatasary 2-1
6/1 Draw 0-0
11/2 Draw 1-1
14/1 Draw 2-2
11/2 Schalke 1-0
9/1 Schalke 2-0
9/1 Schalke 2-1
First Goalscorer Odds
4/1 Didier Drogba
5/1 Umut Bulut
5/1 Burak Yilmaz
6/1 Jan-Klaas Huntelaar
6/1 Johan Elmander
7/1 Jefferson Farfan
7/1 Temu Pukki
8/1 Wesley Sneijder
8/1 Ibrahim Afellay
8/1 Emre Colak
9/1 Michel Bastos
10/1 Nordin Amrabat
Odds supplied by Coral.com, who offer live in-play betting for all Champions League matches.
Posted: Tuesday, 19th February 2013
Author: Chris James
Tags: champions league, galatasary, schalke, didier drogba, coral,
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