Turkish giants Galatasaray will be chasing a historic milestone when they visit Manchester City for their Matchday 8 fixture tomorrow at the Etihad Stadium—aiming to become the first Turkish club to reach 250 goals in UEFA Champions League history.

Both sides will be fighting for three crucial points to bolster their position in the revamped 36-team league phase. Manchester City currently sit 11th with 13 points from seven matches, while Galatasaray occupy 17th place with the same number of games played.

Under the new Champions League format, teams finishing in the top eight automatically qualify for the Round of 16, while those placing ninth to 24th must compete in a two-legged knockout playoff. Sides finishing 25th or lower face elimination without dropping into the Europa League—making tomorrow’s clash vital for both teams.

Manchester City’s only previous UEFA competition encounter with a Turkish club came against Fenerbahce in the first round of the 1968/69 European Cup, with the Istanbul side winning 2-1 on aggregate. Meanwhile, Galatasaray carry an impressive unbeaten record against English opposition in their last four UEFA matches, with three wins and a draw.

Needing just two goals to reach the 250-goal milestone, tomorrow’s match presents an intriguing opportunity for Galatasaray’s talismanic Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen. The danger man for Okan Buruk’s side recently registered his 50th goal for the club during the weekend’s 3-1 league victory over Fatih Karagumruk and has already netted six times in this Champions League campaign.

Galatasaray will be strengthened by two former Manchester City stalwarts. Midfielder İlkay Gündoğan, who scored 65 goals in 358 appearances for City and captained the club to their sole Champions League triumph in 2022/23, will face his former employers. Just as well as midfielder Leroy Sané also played under Pep Guardiola at City, scoring 39 times in 135 matches.

UCL FIXTURES

Ajax vs Olympiakos

Arsenal vs. Kairat

Athletic vs. Sporting

Atletico vs Bodø / Glimt

Barcelona vs. Copenhagen

Leverkusen vs. Villarreal

Benfica vs. Real Madrid

Dortmund vs. Inter

Brugge vs. Marseille

Frankfurt vs. Tottenham

Liverpool vs. Qarabağ

Man City vs. Galatasaray

Monaco vs. Juventus

Napoli vs. Chelsea

PSV vs. Bayern

Pafos vs. Slavia Prague

PSG vs. Newcastle

Saint-Gilloise vs. Atalanta

(The Nation)

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