As far as UEFA Champions League qualifiers go, Wednesday’s clash between Dutch side PSV Eindhoven and Turkish giants Galatasaray is about as high-profile as it gets.
The two sides meet for the first leg of their UCL qualifying double header at the Philips Stadion – the home of PSV.
🦁 Aslanlarımız, UEFA Şampiyonlar Ligi İkinci Ön Eleme Turu ilk ayağında PSV Eindhoven ile oynayacağı maçın hazırlıklarını bugün yaptığı antrenmanla sürdürdü. 📸 pic.twitter.com/YtFoZzFOtL— Galatasaray SK (@GalatasaraySK) July 19, 2021
🦁 Aslanlarımız, UEFA Şampiyonlar Ligi İkinci Ön Eleme Turu ilk ayağında PSV Eindhoven ile oynayacağı maçın hazırlıklarını bugün yaptığı antrenmanla sürdürdü. 📸 pic.twitter.com/YtFoZzFOtL
Galatasaray gave themselves the chance to play Champions League football this year after finishing second in the Turkish Super Lig last season.
As for PSV, they booked their place in UCL qualifying with a second-place finish in the 2020/21 Eredivisie table.
PSV finished the previous campaign on a high, recording a seven-game unbeaten streak (five wins, two draws).
Since then, the Dutch side have played four friendlies – picking up three wins and one draw earlier this month.
After crushing RWDM 6-2 and Delbrucker 10-1, PSV were held to a goalless draw by Osnabruck before beating Greek side PAOK 1-0 last time out.
PSV will be hoping to enjoy more success on the European stage in the coming season, having been knocked out of the Europa League in the Round of 32 last term.
On the flip side, Galatasaray failed to qualify for Europe altogether last term – losing to Scottish side Rangers in the Europa League play-offs.
They also missed out on the Turkish Super Lig title on goal difference, having finished level with first-place Besiktas on 84 points.
Like PSV, Galatasaray also finished the previous campaign in eye-catching form – notching a nine-match unbeaten streak (seven wins, two draws).
They have only played two friendlies since then, however, beating Dinamo Bucharest 2-1 before thrashing Kasimpasa 4-2 last time out.
Head-to-head: PSV and Galatasaray have faced each other seven times over the years, with PSV securing five wins in that time.
Each of the seven meetings have produced at least two goals, while four of the seven encounters have produced over 2.5 goals.
Team news: PSV will be without injured trio Richard Ledezma, Maxime Delanghe and Maximiliano Romero on Wednesday.
Galatasaray also have three players sidelined through injury at the moment, with Jimmy Durmaz, Taylan Antalyali and Omar Elabdellaoui on the treatment table.
Considering PSV’s impressive head-to-head record in this fixture, the Dutch side are likely to produce a high-scoring victory on Wednesday.
Forebet predicts that PSV will score over 2.5 goals and keep a clean sheet en route to dispatching Galatasaray.