Galatasaray v Schalke Odds : Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder to fire Champions League
Its Galatasaray v Schalke in the Champions League with William Hill releasing the latest odds and a new free bets offer as Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder make an appearance once more in the knockout stages of a major competition.
Galatasaray welcome Schalke to Istanbul on Wednesday evening as the two teams go head-to-head in the Champions League round of 16 first leg.
The Turkish side would have been delighted to qualify from their group and with the signings they made in the January transfer window, could go far in this compeition.
Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder have both joined the club and they each have experience in the Champions League and have been winners of it in recent years.
Champions League : William Hill Free Bets Offer
Its another bumper Champions League coupon tonight with AC Milan v Barcelona & Galatasaray v Schalke, as William Hill celebrate with a new free bets offer worth £25/€25 to customers to spend on the match! Claim here!
Drogba helped Chelsea to success last season and scored the winning penalty, whereas Sneijder won the tournament back in 2010 with Inter Milan under Jose Mourinho. Both could start in this one and the Ivorian looks like good value to break the deadlock at 11/2.
Galatasaray are certainly a team that are improving and as they are on home soil on Wednesday evening, are sure to fancy their chances of coming out on top. The fans inside the stadium make an electric – at times hostile – atmosphere and it is one of the toughest places in Europe for an away side to pick up a result.
Unsurprisingly, the home team are the favourites to come out on top at 5/4 and if their big name players do perform right from the off, they can take a healthy lead to Germany for the second leg with them.
Drogba is sure to be telling the squad they can go all the way after what he achieved with Chelsea against all odds last term. Momentum and confidence is such a big thing in tournament football, so Galatasaray need to start the knockout stages flying.
As for Schalke, many were very impressed by the German side in the group stages and they finished ahead of Arsenal to top the table, which of course means they have the advantage of being at home in the second leg.
The Bundesliga outfit know just how tough it is to take a result from the Turkish capital, but have shown in Europe this season that they can be a match for anyone.
They need to play the game and not the occasion.
It will be difficult, but they have to try and ignore the atmosphere and play their football.
Schalke can be backed at 5/2 to win this first leg.
They are sitting in mid-table of the German top flight at the moment, which manager Jens Keller is not likely to be happy about and at the moment, their best chance of Champions League football next season looks to be winning this competition.
Schalke have lost Lewis Holtby to Tottenham Hotspur of course, which is a big blow, but with players such as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar at their disposal, they do have enough quality to come out on top here.
The Dutchman is at 19/10 to score at anytime.
With the atmosphere the Galatasaray fans are sure to make and the football that both these sides like to play, this should be a superb encounter that gets underway from 7.45PM on Tuesday evening.
