Galatasaray vs St Johnstone
5 August 1900hrs
Football – Europe – Europa League
Pick Galatasaray to win to nil
Bookmaker Betfair
Odds: 10/11 odds taken 2000 GMT, Tuesday 3 August
The penultimate round of qualification for the Europa League sees Turkish giants Galatasaray take on a St Johnstone team who won both domestic cups in Scotland last season.
Table of Contents
Galatasaray Preview – Can Galatasaray make amends for their Champions League humiliation?
Galatasaray suffered the agonising experience of losing the league title on goal difference to rivals Besiktas last season. That was despite winning their last six games, including a 3-1 win over the eventual champions. Fatih Terim will have to wait for this third league title since return to the club four a fourth spell in 2017. The new domestic season begins for Galatasaray on the 16th of August.
Terim will be determined to ensure that his team are safely through to the playoff round of this competition before that, however, and recovered from the disappointment (and humiliation) of Gala’s 7-2 aggregate defeat to PSV in Champions League qualification. There’s no getting away that was a humbling defeat both in terms of reputation but also missing out on the finances that the group stages bring.
Winners of the UEFA Cup in 2000 (during one of Terim’s previous spells), Galatasaray have a long way to go if they are to repeat that feat with a number of their star players reaching the veteran stage of their careers.
Ryan Babel, Radamel Falcao and Arda Turan are all 34 or older but were in the squad for the matches against PSV. Some of the younger attackers will have to step up this season if they are to be successful, that includes Egyptian Mostafa Mohamed and new signing Baris Yilmaz.
St Johnstone Preview – Will St Johnstone have enough to stay in the tie for the return leg?
St Johnstone had a record-breaking season in 2020/21 which seen them when both the League Cup and Scottish Cup. What makes it more remarkable is they had only ever won one major cup in their history prior to that campaign and it was also Callum Davidson’s first season in charge having taken over from Tommy Wright last summer.
Their reward is the chance of playing European group stage football for the first time in their history. It could have been a more favourable draw but they do have the safety net of dropping into the Europa Conference League should Galatasaray have too much for them.
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St Johnstone began their league campaign with a goalless draw away to Ross County on Saturday. Ali McCann – who was so good for them last season – missed a penalty to grab all three points but they were dominant for large parts of the match and have also benefited from having kept hold of the majority of their squad from last season.
Davidson will want to add some bodies before now and the end of the transfer window as it does look short on depth. That’s particularly important if the Perth Saints do have European football between now and Christmas.
Galatasaray vs St Johnstone Betting Advice
This is something of a mismatch when it comes to European experience. Galatasaray are regular participants in the group stages of the Champions League whilst this is St Johnstone’s first European football since 2017. That was ended at the first hurdle and they’ll be hoping to prolong their journey this time around.
Randers await the winners of this game whilst the loser will take on either FK Vojvodina or LASK for a place in the Conference League group stages.
Key Facts – Galatasaray vs St Johnstone Betting Tip
- Galatasaray dropped into the Europa League after losing 7-2 to PSV in Champions League qualification
- The winners of this tie will face Randers from Denmark in the playoff round
- The losers take on FK Vojvodina or LASK in the playoff round of the Conference League
St Johnstone are very adept and setting up and frustrating teams. They’ll attempt to do that and keep the tie alive ahead of the return game next week. Galatasaray might just have too much for them in this game, though, and take them to win without conceding with their opponents likely to be without the ball for long spells.
Best Betting Odds for Galatasaray vs St Johnstone
