Galatasaray ready for Europa League clash with PAOK
Galatasaray continues its European journey in the UEFA Europa League. The yellow-reds will face PAOK at 22:00, dealing with missing players, while head coach Okan Buruk will return to the bench following his suspension.
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Galatasaray will face PAOK in their first match of the UEFA Europa League group stage. The match, which will kick off at 22:00 at RAMS Park, will be officiated by Spanish referee Alejandro Hernandez. The yellow-red team began their European campaign this season in the UEFA Champions League play-off round, qualifying for the Europa League after losing 3-2 and 1-0 to Swiss side Young Boys.
Galatasaray will face 8 teams in the new format and, following the PAOK match, will compete against RFS, Elfsborg, Tottenham, AZ Alkmaar, Malmö, Dynamo Kyiv, and Ajax, respectively. PAOK won the Greek Super League title last season and currently leads the league this season with 4 wins and 1 draw in 5 matches.
The yellow-red team has three significant absences: Fernando Muslera, Hakim Ziyech, and Roland Sallai will not be able to play against PAOK. Muslera will be sidelined for 3 matches due to a red card suspension from the Young Boys game. Ziyech will not be in the squad due to injury, while Sallai is ineligible as he is not on the UEFA Europa League roster.
Galatasaray head coach Okan Buruk will return to the bench for the PAOK match after his suspension ended. Buruk had received a 2-match ban following the Sparta Prague match in which they were eliminated from the UEFA Europa League last season.
Galatasaray is currently leading the Süper Lig with 6 wins in 6 matches this season. Having found significant form across all competitions, the yellow-reds have lost their last 3 matches in Europe. Michy Batshuayi, Barış Alper Yılmaz, and Dries Mertens are among the players carrying the team's goal-scoring burden.
Ahead of this critical encounter, fans are hoping for Galatasaray to end their poor run in Europe. Additionally, there is curiosity regarding the strategy that PAOK head coach Razvan Lucescu will employ against Galatasaray.
The squad registered by Galatasaray for the UEFA Europa League includes the following names: Fernando Muslera, Ahmet Şen, Günay Güvenç, Ismail Jakobs, Davinson Sanchez, Kaan Ayhan, Elias Jelert, Victor Nelsson, Abdülkerim Bardakcı, Metehan Baltacı, Kerem Demirbay, Gabriel Sara, Berkan Kutlu, Hakim Ziyech, Lucas Torreira, Dries Mertens, Yusuf Demir, Yunus Akgün, Barış Alper Yılmaz, Mauro Icardi, Michy Batshuayi, Victor Osimhen.