The excitement of the Ziraat Türkiye Kupası group stage has officially commenced. Defending champions Galatasaray will host Rams Başakşehir at Rams Park at 20:30. The match will be officiated by FIFA referee Halil Umut Meler.
Match Details
Both teams are set to battle in the group stage of the cup, with Galatasaray fielding a strong lineup:
- Galatasaray Starting 11: Günay, Sallai, Arda, Abdülkerim, Kazımcan, Sara, İlkay, Gökdeniz, Sane, Ahmed, Icardi
- Rams Başakşehir Starting 11: Muhammed, Onur, Hamza, Opoku, Ömer Ali, Berat, Kalunski, Ivan, Nuno da Costa, Shomurodov, Bertuğ
Group Stage Context
In Group A of the cup, Galatasaray is competing against Rams Başakşehir, Trabzonspor, Corendon Alanyaspor, Mısırlı.com.tr Fatih Karagümrük, İstanbulspor, Boluspor, and Fethiyespor. The format allows for four matches against these teams. Following the Rams Başakşehir match, Galatasaray will play against Fethiyespor, İstanbulspor, and Corendon Alanyaspor.
Earlier in the season, Galatasaray managed a 2-1 victory over Rams Başakşehir in their league matchup.
Team Challenges
Galatasaray faces significant challenges ahead of this match. Several key players are unavailable:
- Wilfried Singo (injured)
- Berkan Kutlu (injured)
- Kaan Ayhan (injured)
- Uğurcan Çakır (injured)
- Eren Elmalı (suspended due to a betting investigation)
- Metehan Baltacı (detained)
- Victor Osimhen (away for Africa Cup of Nations)
- Mario Lemina (away for Africa Cup of Nations)
- Ismail Jakobs (away for Africa Cup of Nations)
Recent Performance
Galatasaray enters the match with the title of last year’s cup champion. Under coach Okan Buruk, they achieved a remarkable 3-0 victory against Trabzonspor in the final, securing their fifth cup win after a five-year gap. Notably, the team has struggled defensively in their last seven matches, failing to keep a clean sheet.
On the other hand, Rams Başakşehir aims to build on its recent form. They qualified for the Ziraat Türkiye Kupası group stage after finishing in fifth place in the previous season’s Süper Lig. With seven points from their last three league matches, they are eager to start the cup campaign positively.
In their previous encounter in the Türkiye Kupası, the two teams ended in a 2-2 draw at Rams Park.
As the match approaches, both teams will be keen to kick off their cup journey on a high note, making this a thrilling fixture to watch.
