Barcelona at RAMS Park, and the place is going to be loud
Galatasaray host Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday, October 13, kick-off 21:00 CEST at RAMS Park (1)(2)(9). Italian referee Marco Guida takes charge (1)(9). It is the biggest night of your season so far, and the club has priced it that way: this is the most expensive match in Turkish football history (5).
Singo is out
Wilfried Singo misses Barcelona through injury (1). Kaan Ayhan, Kazımcan Karataş, Arda Ünyay, Eyüp Aydın and Can Armando Güner are not in the UEFA squad either (1). That is five names gone from the defensive and squad options, and Singo's absence is the one that hurts most.
Buruk is one win from 150
Okan Buruk has 149 wins in 211 Galatasaray matches (1). Number 150 would be Barcelona, at home, in the Champions League.
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Gündoğan against his old club
İlkay Gündoğan could line up against the team he played for in 2023-2024, when he scored 5 goals in 51 games for Barcelona (1).
The plan for Yamal
Okan Buruk has a specific plan for Barcelona's Yamal (10). Hansi Flick is expected to answer with an experienced eleven built to handle the Ali Sami Yen atmosphere, which he has called terrifying (6).
Ismael Garcia on Raphinha and the dentist
Assistant coach Ismael Garcia did not hide his feelings about Raphinha: "¡Pues claro que prefiero que no juegue Raphinha!" (3). He also had a line for the size of the task, comparing playing Barcelona to going to the dentist (8).
Oulai is the January target, Fiorentina say no for now
Galatasaray are monitoring Fiorentina midfielder Oulai for the January window and want him (4). Fiorentina see him as incedibile, unsellable, and Paratici's answer was a no (4).
What comes next
After Barcelona you go to Genclerbirligi in the Süper Lig on Saturday, October 17, kick-off 15:00 CEST. Then Lille away in the Champions League on Wednesday, October 21, and Fenerbahce at home on Monday, October 26. You sit top of the Süper Lig on 16 points from 7 games with a +5 goal difference.
Fan reactions
The build-up is doing the work. Fans are swapping plans to meet in Taksim before the Barcelona match, and a Wesley Sneijder message to Aleksey Batrakov, telling him to give everything because at Galatasaray he can become even better, is making the rounds. There is also word from Haluk Yürekli that Singo is intended to be back in the squad for the Fenerbahce game.
