Galatasaray coach Cesare Prandelli has refused to label his side's opening Champions League opponents Anderlecht as the weak link in Group D.
"We'll play against an organised, very young and interesting team. They will be ambitious to impress. Therefore we need to be careful. We'll try to get three points with the help of our fans," he told www.uefa.com.
"Let's not call Anderlecht the weakest team in the group. Let's say the youngest. Just because they have played more matches than us, we won't have any fear of them."
The 57-year-old Italian expects playmaker Wesley Sneijder to play a starring role over the course of the season for Gala, who have taken four points out of six at the start of their Super Lig season.
"Sneijder is one of the most important players of Galatasaray. He has big quality. He showed a high-level of performance in the World Cup and before that for Galatasaray," added Prandelli.
Galatasaray will miss defender Semih Kaya, who is nursing a calf injury. Meanwhile, Anderlecht will be without goalkeeper and captain Silvio Proto and French defender Fabrice N'Sakala, both of whom are suspended.
Anderlecht manager Besnik Hasi is adamant his side will not just park the bus and hope for a draw.
The Belgian champions are unbeaten this season but face a tough test to extend that record in the cauldron of the Turk Telekom Arena although this does not faze Hasi.
"We haven't come here just to defend," he said. "We'll try to play our game as much as we can.
"We'll try to play in the way we do in our league and have possession. Will we get points? That depends on the tactics. If we can play our own game, why not?"
Galatasaray should score goal and goals in Istanbul today while Anderlecht's top keeper is away. If Galatasaray wants to win.
The match starts at 9:45 p.m.(local Turkey time) at Galatasaray's Turk Telekom Arena in İstanbul. In the other Group D match, Dortmund hosts Arsenal at the same time.
No comments:
Post a Comment