Galatasaray welcome FC Copenhagen to RAMS Park on Wednesday for the opening game of their Champions League Group stage. Galatasaray and Copenhagen are joined by Bayern Munich and Manchester United in a competitive Group A.
Galatasaray sit top of the Super Lig after just four games. The Lions have three wins and one draw, leaving them on ten points. The one draw came in their first game of the season, a goalless draw against Kayserispor. However, after this disappointing start to the season, Galatasaray beat Trabzonspor 2 - 0, beat Gaziantep 3 - 0 and most recently The Lions won 4 - 2 against Samsunspor.
The Lions started their Champions League journey this season in the Second qualifying round where they met Lithuanian side Zalgiris. In the first leg, Abdulkerim Bardakci and Halil Dervisoglu both scored in the 2 - 2 draw where Zalgiris had goalscorer Donatas Kazlauskas sent off in extra time just a minute after equalising for his side. Dries Mertens scored the only goal in the second leg as Galatasaray clinched the 3 - 2 win on aggregate. Next up was Olimpija where in the first leg Muhammed Kerem Akturkoglu, Mertens and Dervisoglu all scored in the 3 - 0 win. In the second leg Mauro Icardi scored the only goal to grab the 4 - 0 aggregate win as Lucas Torreria was sent off in the second half.
Molde was the final hurdle to the Group Stage and Sergio Oliveira, Icardi and Fredrik Midtsjo all scored in the 3 - 2 win in the first leg. In the second leg, Icardi converted a penalty and Angelino scored in extra time to grab the 2 - 1 win on the night and a 5 - 3 win on aggregate.
Copenhagen are also top of their domestic league the Superliga. With eight games played, Copenhagen have six wins, one draw, one loss and 19 points. In their last five games, Copenhagen have three wins, one draw and one loss. The three wins came against OB, a 2 - 1 win, Hvidovre, a 2 - 0 win and Viborg who they also beat 2 - 0. The one loss came against Silkeborg where Copenhagen lost 3 - 1, and the draw was their most recent outing where they drew 2 - 2 with Nordsjaelland.
Like Galatasaray, Copenhagen had a long run to get to the Group Stage. In the Second qualifying round Copenhagen faced Breoablik. Jordan Larsson and Rasmus Falk scored in the 2 - 0 win in the first leg and Diogo Goncalves, Elias Achouri and Larsson along with a Orri Oskarsson hattrick all scored in the 6 - 3 win in the second leg, an 8 - 3 win on aggregate. Next up was Sparta Prague, where the first leg was a goalless affair. The second leg was a 3 - 3 draw with Larsson on the scoresheet and Viktor Claesson grabbing a double. This draw sent the tie to penalties where misses from Ladislav Krejci and Asger Sorensen gave Copenhagen the 4 - 2 win.
Raków Częstochowa were the final team Copenhagen had to face. Copenhagen took home a 1 - 0 win in the first leg after an own goal from Bogdan Racovitan. In the second leg, Denis Vavro scored in the first half and despite Lukas Zwolinski’s equaliser, Copenhagen took the 2 - 1 win on aggregate and the place in the Group Stage.
Galatasray and Copenhagen have met just twice in the Champions League back in the 2013/14 season. Both sides have a win in the fixture meaning that there’s no historical dominance from either side.