Galatasaray vs Bayern Munich Prediction - Soccer Picks 10/24/23

Galatasaray (1-1-0) vs Bayern Munich (2-0-0)

Tuesday, October 24, 2023 at 12:45 pm (Rams Park)

Galatasaray +600/Bayern Munich -225 - Over/Under: 2.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds

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The UEFA Champions League returns to action with Round 3 following the international break. Bayern Munich and Galatasaray are currently the top two teams of Group A with six and four points, respectively. A win for the visitors here would practically secure them a knockout ticket, but the hosts are hoping for a positive result. Here is our Galatasaray vs Bayern Munich betting preview and prediction.

Galatasaray (Form and News)

Galatasaray looked set to be outsiders to progress when they were drawn in UEFA Champions League (UCL) Group A alongside Copenhagen, Manchester United, and opponents here, Bayern Munich. But a memorable 3-2 win at Old Trafford in the last round combined with a fightback from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 against Copenhagen in Round 1 has given them a solid platform to reach the knockout stages of this competition for the first time in ten years.

Those games have contributed to the Turkish giants piecing together an impressive run of 17 games unbeaten across all competitions this season (W14, D3), the most recent of which was a 2-1 home win against rivals Beşiktaş to maintain their spot at the top of the Süper Lig. Confidence that they can keep that run going should be high here, but no win against a Bundesliga visitor in Istanbul since a 1-0 success over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1992/93 UEFA Cup (D5, L3) illustrates the difficulty of the task ahead of them.

Head coach Okan Buruk is happy to have all the players at his disposal. Galatasaray’s top scorer, Mauro Icardi (14 goals in 15 games in all competitions) is listed as questionable with a tendon injury but should be fine to face Bayern Munich.

Bayern Munich (Form and News)

Bayern were predicted to finish as group winners and reach the knockout stages for a 15th successive season with relative ease, and two wins from two so far only affirms those expectations. After beating Manchester United at home in Round 1, they secured a 2-1 victory on the road at Copenhagen, which is a win that’s continued a trend of them scoring at least two goals in all their competitive away games so far this season (W5, D1).

The German champions also scored 2+ goals in their last visit to Turkey, when they beat Galatasaray’s neighbours Beşiktaş 3-1 during the 2017/18 edition of this competition. That extended their unbeaten record against Turkish sides to six matches (W5, D1).

Unlike his colleague Buruk, Bayern’s HC Thomas Tuchel has plenty of injury-related problems. He will be without Leon Goretzka (wrist), Raphael Guerreiro (muscle), Noussair Mazraoui (muscle), and Dayot Upamecano (thigh). Serge Gnabry (unfit) and Manuel Neuer (leg) are questionable.

Galatasaray vs Bayern Munich H2H Record

Galatasaray and Bayern Munich have met on just two occasions so far. It was in this competition 51 years ago; the game in Istanbul ended 1-1, while Bayern destroyed Galata 6-0 in Germany.

Galatasaray vs Bayern Munich Odds

Galatasaray are underdogs here at +600; a draw is +400, while Bayern Munich are favorites at -225. When it comes to goals, Over 2.5 is -225, and Under 2.5 is +170. Both teams to score odds are -163 for YES and +120 for NO.

Galatasaray vs Bayern Munich Betting Pick

Galatasaray are unbeaten in all competitions this season and scored 2+ goals in 11 of the previous 12 games. They scored 2+ goals in each of the last six at home. Apart from the opening game of the season, in which they lost 3-0 to RB Leipzig in the German Super Cup, Bayern are without a loss and scored 2+ goals in each game this season. On the road, the Bavarians won five out of six games (D1) and scored 17 goals in that span.

Each of Galata’s last five home games produced goals on both ends and Over 2.5 goals combined. That also occurred in each of Bayern Munich’s previous three games on the road. My Galatasaray vs Bayern Munich Betting Pick is Over 2.5 goals & BTTS YES.