Galatasaray Missing Four Players Ahead of Champions League Clash with Liverpool

Galatasaray head coach Okan Buruk is expected to have almost a full squad available for the first leg of his side’s UEFA Champions League Round of 16 encounter against Liverpool FC.

The Turkish champions, who defeated Liverpool 1–0 in Istanbul during the league phase of the competition, will be without four players for the match. One is suspended, while three others are sidelined through injury. However, none of the absent players have been regular members of the starting line-up this season.

Reserve centre-back Metehan Baltaci has been unavailable since November after being suspended by the Turkish Football Federation over his alleged involvement in a betting scandal. The 24-year-old has made only 10 appearances for Galatasaray.

The other absentees include goalkeepers Enes Buyuk and Batuahan Sen, along with defender Arda Unyay. All three have featured only sporadically for the senior side this season.

Galatasaray began the campaign with limited depth in the goalkeeping department, giving the 19-year-old Buyuk a slim chance of earning more minutes. However, the club strengthened the position by signing Ugurcan Cakır from Trabzonspor for €27.5 million (£23.5 million).

Buyuk is expected to remain out for an extended period after undergoing surgery to treat a Bankart lesion in his shoulder.

Liverpool Dealing with Key Absences

Liverpool are also coping with several injury concerns ahead of the fixture.

Defenders Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley have both been ruled out for the remainder of the season due to long-term injuries. Meanwhile, striker Alexander Isak is continuing his recovery following ankle surgery.

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot also confirmed two additional injury setbacks during his pre-match press conference.

First-choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker did not travel with the squad after experiencing discomfort during a training session on Monday morning. The Brazilian international has already missed nine matches this season and was substituted midway through the previous encounter with Galatasaray due to injury.

“Ali, of course, was in the training session, as many people could see, but unfortunately he felt something towards the end of the session,” Slot explained.

“People looked at it, and we decided together that it wasn’t good enough for him to play tomorrow. In that situation, there’s no point in travelling.”

With Alisson unavailable, deputy goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili is expected to make his 11th appearance of the season and his first start since featuring against Barnsley FC in the FA Cup in January.

Winger Federico Chiesa, who was an unused substitute in Liverpool’s recent victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, also did not travel with the squad. The Italian international has struggled for consistent selection throughout the campaign.

Another player absent from the squad is Wataru Endo. The 31-year-old recently underwent surgery on his injured left ankle and faces an uncertain timeline regarding his return this season.