Galatasaray vs Hamburg

We had both the draw and the away win on our side in this one – our money was never in danger. Martin Jol’s Hamburg won 3-2 in the notoriously volatile home of Galatasaray. Our superb recent football form continued as our bank account continues to swell.

Panathinaikos were successfully opposed when they returned home with the advantage from their first leg in Spain against Villarreal in the Champions League last 16 and it is a similar story in neighbouring Turkey on Thursday in the Uefa Cup. Galatasaray entertain Hamburg and the hosts are in pole position to advance following a 1-1 draw in Germany.

Martin Jol’s side, currently fourth in the Bundesliga, played much of the tie last week against ten men following Emre A??k’s sending off but it could have been much worse for the former Tottenham boss. His men trailed to Ayhan Akman 34th minute strike and still have it all to do.

A goalless draw will be enough for the Turkish side to progress to the last eight but we have seen time and time again just how difficult that scenario is to safely negotiate and Galatasaray look plenty short enough at just 2.35 to win on the night.

That price would look skinny under any circumstances but their lack of need to win the match itself means they must be taken on and coach Bülent Korkmaz must also contend with a host of injury problems.

Czech striker Milan Baros leads the line for the home side these days but they are without both Servet Çetin and Emre Güngör in defence and that could leave them vulnerable. Hamburg have been playing very well this season and are coming off the back of a 2-0 win over Cottbus on the weekend.
While the visitors have struggled somewhat for form away from home domestically, it’s just four wins on the road in the top flight, Jol has his team are performing exceptionally well on their travels in Europe and I am more than happy to have both them and the draw running for me.

Hamburg managed victories at both Zilina and Slavia Prague when topping Group F and that set up a last 32 clash with NEC. The Dutch outfit were swept aside in Holland 3-0 with goals coming from Piotr Trochowski, Alex Silva and Ivica Oli? and the last named of the trio is likely to prove the chief threat again. Oli? is a striker of real quality and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him find the net once more.

If Hamburg can stay in the tie for at least an hour then the passionate home support are sure to get twitchy and that can be to the advantage of the experienced visitors. Who knows, they might just be good enough to come out on top and every side at this stage must fancy their chances of going all the way in a competition that has opened right up following the shock exits of previous favourites AC Milan and Valencia.