Victor Osimhen is still one of the best strikers in world football and is crucial to Galatasaray in the Champions League. The Super Lig champions have scored nine goals across their seven games in the Champions League this term and Osimhen has scored six of them.

His shot volume is consistently high and may warrant exploring shot lines for Osimhen as well in this clash, he’s averaging 5.10 shots per 90 in the Champions League this term and is priced at a generous 2.0 for 3+ shots in this clash - notably lining up against two inexperienced centre backs at this level with Dias and Gvardiol sidelined.

15 of Osimhen’s 23 attempts have found the target in the Champions League (3.33 per 90), an impressive shot accuracy of 65%. He’s also matching his xG in the Champions League (6.38), suggesting that when high quality chances fall the way of Osimhen he is likely to find the target, if not the back of the net.

Leroy Sane returns to face his former club which always carries a bit of extra pressure and motivation for players, and his potential opponent as well as his personal foul record make him an ideal candidate to sin at least once in this fixture.

Sane has committed seven fouls across his six starts in the Champions League this season (1.22 per 90). He’s also averaging 1.74 tackles per 90 across these games, suggesting that he’s being given defensive instructions when lining up on the right wing for Galatasaray.

Sane has also committed 17 fouls across his 17 starts in the Super Lig this season (1.03 per 90), showing a consistency to his foul numbers across competitions. He’s forecasted to line up on the right wing here which would pit him against a threatening duo of Nico O’Reilly and Jeremy Doku.

Doku is the obvious threat down that side and Sane will almost certainly have extra instructions to support Roland Sallai - who isn’t a natural right back so is likely to need assistance against Doku. The Belgian winger has won 16 fouls across his five starts in the Champions League this season (3.49 per 90) which is a rate that suggests that Doku nearly always needs two players to stop him.

Donnarumma was a smart buy from Manchester City in the summer window and I think he’ll show why he was so sought after by Guardiola here. He won’t have much protection in front of him with Dias and Gvardiol - City have signed Guehi to deal with these absences but it’s worth noting that Guehi has never played in the Champions League before so this will be a new experience for him, as good as he is.

Donnarumma has been called into action on nine occasions across his six appearances in the Champions League this season (1.50 per 90). We’re looking for a reason to see a slight rise in these numbers and I think the format of the league phase will aid our selection here. Galatasaray still need a positive result to be sure of their place in the top 24, while Manchester City need all three points to secure a place in the top eight.

This context means we are likely to see quite an open game with a draw suiting neither side. City will be optimistic of their chances of out scoring Galatasaray here if they can effectively neutralise the threat of Victor Osimhen who is easily the Super Lig champions’ biggest goal threat. He’s averaging 3.33 shots on target per 90 in the Champions League, so he could test Donnarumma on his own here. 

I think it’s fair to say that this league phase format doesn’t really suit Manchester City, they failed to finish in the top eight last season - just about sneaking through to the playoffs via a 22nd place finish. They find themselves needing a win to be sure of their chances of finishing in the top eight following their defeat against Bodo Glimt last week which has put them in this precarious position.

That being said, City have a different level of control in their games at the Etihad and have been more consistent in their performances in front of their home fans this term than they were last season. Galatasaray have struggled on the road in the Champions League this season with two defeats from their three away defeats in the competition - notably only scoring four goals across these games.

City’s scoring power and attacking depth is likely to be the difference between these sides. I think the Super Lig champions will struggle to match the volume of chances that City carve out here, and even if they make the most of the defensive issues that City are facing at the moment - I think it’ll be limited to just the one goal which City can manage with their scoring power.

Cherki has been a joy to watch since he joined Manchester City. I was a little worried that we’d lose a little bit of his creativity and flair in Guardiola’s system but he has retained these qualities and now has high level players around him to make more of the chances he creates.

Cherki is yet to register an assist in the Champions League this term, but has registered seven across his 11 starts in the Premier League - plugging a key creativity gap that Manchester City struggled with last season. He’s created 33 chances across these Premier League starts (3.10 per 90), more than any other player in the Manchester City squad.

He’s created six chances across just two starts in the Champions League this term (2.69 per 90) showing that it is a consistent part of his game. I’m particularly fond of this angle due to how many high quality players Cherki has to pick out. Haaland has been in poor form recently, but even without him, City have the likes of Semenyo and Foden who can pitch in with goals by getting on the end of Cherki’s delivery.

Roland Sallai is expected to line up as a right back here making him a standout for a caution instantly as he’ll be up against Jeremy Doku. Sallai is not a natural right back, he has played the majority of his career as a forward so it’s not surprising that he’s the shortest player in the market to be shown a card here.

Sallai collected a yellow card in Galatasaray’s 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid last time out, with that caution representing his first in the competition. Jeremy Doku will test him regularly here, the winger has won 16 fouls across his five starts in the Champions League this season, working out to an average of 3.43 fouls won per 90.

Sallai has picked up a further two yellow cards and a red card in the Super Lig this term. I expect him to look a little awkward in his duels against Doku who will be well aware that he’s facing an opponent that isn’t the most comfortable in defending 1v1 duels, potentially prompting Doku to take him on more often than he usually would. 

Galatasaray have only scored nine goals in the Champions League this season, but this is a result of the Super Lig giants being wasteful instead of a lack of chance creation. The Turkish giants are averaging 5.00 shots on target per game in the Champions League this term and face off against a City defence which is without Stones, Gvardiol and Dias.

Galatasaray were a bit underwhelming in an attacking sense in their 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid last week, managing just two shots on target. However, I don’t expect Manchester City to be as secure at the back here due to their defensive absences - and also the fact that Guardiola will probably feel as though his side can outscore the Super Lig champions with the quality he has in the side.

Bodo Glimt had five shots on target in their 3-1 win over Manchester City last week. Rodri’s sending off in that game means that he won’t feature here, potentially making City more vulnerable to transitional attacks which are likely to be the main attacking threat of Galatasaray here.