Galatasaray vs Rizespor Betting Tips & Predictions

Galatasaray have had a shocking season by their standards. Their Champions League campaign saw them crash out of the group stages, although they did manage a 3rd place finish to qualify for the Europa League knockout stages. This didn’t last long either though as they were eliminated by Lazio the first time of asking, with this knockout serving as a springboard for their Super Lig disappointment.

After Lazio beat them in Italy, Galatasaray failed to win any of their following eight matches in all competitions. They finally broke out of this run in the first leg of this Turkish Cup semi-final tie, and it’s put them in a very good position in terms of making it to the final.

They beat Rizespor 3-1 away from home in the middle of April, with Lukas Podolski’s 94th minute goal making a difficult task almost an impossibility for Rizespor.

This defeat was a part of Rizespor’s own poor run of form. They did manage to win last weekend though, finally ending a run of eight games without a win in which they have lost five times.

Obviously form like this gets punished in league campaigns, and both teams find themselves in miserable positions. Galatasaray sit down in 6th position with just 45 points from their 31 games, while Rizespor have 11 fewer points than them and reside in 13th position.

Away from home Rizespor have lost four of their last six, and they’re coming up against a Galatasaray side who are unbeaten at home since their Champions League group game against Atletico Madrid back in September. They have won 13 of their 21 matches since that 2-0 loss, and with Rizespor desperate for goals I think the hosts will be able to sit back and pick the visitors off for their 14th victory.

Odds of 5/6 for a Galatasaray win look good value to me, and I’m backing that along with a 2-1 correct score prediction at 15/2.