Galatasaray vs AZ Alkmaar

Rams Park forms the backdrop for the second leg of an exciting Europa League knockout playoff tie between Galatasaray and AZ Alkmaar.

Galatasaray must do the unthinkable to reach the next Europa League round following a humiliating 4-1 defeat in last week’s first leg on Dutch soil. Only once in 57 previous attempts has a team overcome a 3+ goal deficit in the second leg of this competition, and that lone success happened over a decade ago! Scoring on home turf hasn’t been an issue for Galatasaray as they’ve netted 3+ goals across their last five Europa League home outings (W4, D1), yet none of those victories yielded a winning margin of more than two goals. Furthermore, you’d need to go back to October 2009 for the last time Galatasaray won a Europa League home match by a 3+ goal margin, highlighting the size of the task awaiting Okan Buruk’s side this midweek.

Meanwhile, AZ Alkmaar set one foot in the Round of 16 but can’t take anything for granted. Though they have won both legs of a European knockout tie only once, losing by a two-goal margin would still propel them past the Turkish powerhouse. Unlike their hosts, Maarten Martens’ men were not in action at the weekend and will hope fresh legs can help them extend a four-match winning streak in all competitions, with each win coming by a 2+ goal margin. Despite avoiding defeat on all three previous European visits to Turkey (W1, D2), the visitors have lost their last three Europa League knockout away fixtures!