Galatasaray will be hoping to maintain an impressive home record against Italian sides as they prepare to take on Lazio in the Europa League round of 32 later today. The Turkish powerhouse will be coming into this match having put together a 10-match unbeaten streak on home turf in European competition versus Serie A sides, but will face a stern test in taking on the Biancocelesti, who have been pretty solid in their European campaign thus far.
Galatasaray
After finishing third in their group behind Atletico Madrid and Benfica, Galatasaray gained automatic entry to the Europa League round of 32. However, Mustafa Denizli's men have fallen off the pace in the league and currently sit in fifth place, which will surely be disappointing for a side used to being on the top of the Turkish Süper Lig, of which they are reigning champions. With 34 points, they are 15 behind league leaders Fenerbahçe and are in danger of totally missing out on European football next season if they do not manage to turn things around domestically.
Still, they will have an opportunity to feature in Europe should they manage to win this season's Europa League. Galatasaray, are, to date, the only Turkish team to have achieved this feat when they lifted the trophy during the 1999/2000 season and despite their struggles domestically, have been quite solid at the Türk Telekom Arena. They have currently gone 14 games sans defeat at home in all competitions and have scored three goals in five out of their last six matches on their home turf.
However, they have only won one out of their last seven European games, with three losses and three draws in the other six matches. On top of that, their away performances have not been impressive either, with two draws and nine losses away from home; their last victory on the road was a 3-2 win over Schalke back in March 2013. Their last appearance at this stage was back during the 2009/2010 campaign, when they were defeated by Atletico Madrid, and it will be an interesting match for goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, who joined the Turkish giants from Lazio back in 2011.
Denizli will be without the services of Sinan Gumus and Hamit Altintop due to injury, and the team now will not longer be able to rely in striker Burak Yilmaz after he made a move to China earlier this year.
Galatasaray have picked up seven wins and three draws against Italian teams on home turf, and the last time they were defeated by a Serie A side was back in January 1963 when they were defeated 3-1 by AC Milan. Their overall record out of the 22 European matches versus teams from Italy currently stands as seven wins, eight draws, and seven defeats, and they have never won a match on Italian soil.
Lazio
Meanwhile, Lazio have a solid record against Turkish sides; out of their 12 prior games, the Aquile have won six, drawn four, and lost two. Today will be their seventh match playing in Turkey, where they have won three out of their past six matches and Stefano Pioli's men will be coming into this match having defeated Verona 5-2 in domestic play last week.
The Biancocelesti, however, will be arriving in Turkey facing an injury crisis, with Stefan de Vrij, Milan Bisevac, Stefan Radu, Marco Parolo, Santiago Gentiletti, and Dusan Basta all still being on the treatment table. In addition, young striker Keita is currently serving a ban and will not be eligible for this fixture.
So far, Pioli's side are unbeaten in their last six away fixtures and are making their first appearance in the Europa League round of 32 since the 2013/2014 season, in which they were eliminated by Bulgarian outfit Ludogorets Razgrad.
Still, since arriving in the Europa League after failing to make it past Bayer Leverkusen in their Champions League two-legged play-off, Lazio have done well. They topped their group with 14 points with four wins and two draws, and outscoring their opponents by 13 goals to six. Currently in seventh place in Serie A, they are nine points away from a European spot and as such, will want to keep up their run in this competition for as long as possible.
Which channel is broadcasting Galatasaray vs Lazio on TV or Online?
The Türk Telekom Arena will be rocking as Galatasaray's home support will be rallying behind their team in the hopes of maintaining their impressive home form against teams from Italy. However, Lazio will be keen on making history and becoming the first Italian side to beat them at home in over 50 years, making this a very interesting match not to miss.
However, if you're too far away to catch it live, no worries. LiveSoccerTV.com has plenty of selections to view this game via TV, computer, phone, or tablet.
Here are some options for fans residing elsewhere in Turkey and in the following countries:
- In the USA at 15.05 EST on: Fox Soccer 2GO USA, ESPN Deportes+, ESPN3 USA
- In Turkey at 22.05 EET on: Idman TV, Tivibu Spor 1
- In Italy at 21.05 CET: Sky Sport 1 HD Italia, Lazio Style Channel, Sky Calcio 1
- In the UK at 20.05 GMT: BT Sport Live Streaming
Live elsewhere? Check out our special Galatasaray vs Lazio broadcast page for viewing times and options for wherever you call home.
*Note: Live broadcast data is subject to change*
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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