Istanbul: Liverpool travel to Galatasaray tonight for their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 match. Liverpool will visit Galatasaray tonight for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 match. Galatasaray from Turkey are set to host Liverpool from England at Rams Park at 00:45. These two teams previously met in the league phase, with Galatasaray winning 1-0 at home thanks to a penalty from Victor Osimhen. For this game, Galatasaray manager Ogun Buruk is expected to field Osimhen, their star striker. In midfield, he will likely utilize Lucas Torreira, the former Arsenal midfielder, alongside Mario Lemina, a former Southampton and Wolverhampton player, supported by Baric Yilmaz, Yunus Akkun, and Noah Lang.
According to Thai News Agency, Liverpool manager Arne Slot announced his 21-man squad traveling to Turkey, without the injured first-choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker, who will start in his place. The main squad is ready to play, including Cody Kakpo, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Grafenberg, Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Florian Wirtz, with Hugo Ekitique leading the attack.
In another match, Newcastle United from England will host Barcelona from Spain at St. James' Park at 3:00 AM. Newcastle manager Eddie Howe will have Nick Woltermadeu and Sandro Tonali, who recently returned to the field in the FA Cup defeat against Manchester City, available for this game. Jacob Ramsey is also available after serving his suspension, but they will be without Emil Krafth, Lewis Miley, Fabian Sch¤r, and Bruno Guimares due to injury. Anthony Gordon is ready to partner Joelinton, Harvey Barnes, and Yoan Wissa in attack.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick received good news as Marc Bernal and Gabi are fully fit again. However, Alejandro Bald©, Frenkie de Jong, Jules Kound©, and Andreas Christensen are all still injured. The attack will still be led by Lamine Yamal, who is poised to set a new record by becoming the youngest player to reach 30 appearances in the UEFA Champions League. He will be linking up with Firmino L³pez, Raphinha, and Robert Lewandowski.
As for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg matches, there are two more tonight. Atalanta will face Bayern Munich, and Atletico Madrid will take on Tottenham Hotspur, both matches scheduled for 03:00 AM.