Matchday 6 of the 2024/25 Europa League group stage between Malmö (Sweden) and Galatasaray (Turkey) will take place on December 12 at the Eleda Stadium. Malmö vs. Galatasaray: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Referee: John Brooks (England)
Matches – 9 (International matches, 2023/24–2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 44;
Average yellow cards per match – 4.9;
Red cards shown – 1;
Average fouls per match – 25;
Penalties – 33%.
Predicted lineups for Malmö vs. Galatasaray
Malmö (4-5-1): Ricardo Friedrich – Jens Stryger Larsen, Colin Rösler, Nils Setterström, Gabriel Busanello – Lasse Berg Johnsen, Sergio Peña, Otto Rosengren, Anders Christiansen, Hugo Bolin – Erik Botheim.
Galatasaray (3-4-3): Fernando Muslera – Abdülkerim Bardakcı, Davinson Sánchez, Victor Nelsson – Barış Yılmaz, Lucas Torreira, Gabriel Sara, Yunus Akgün – Dries Mertens, Victor Osimhen, Michy Batshuayi.
Each team's lineup is based on their previous match in this tournament.
Malmö
The Swedish club suffered their third consecutive defeat in the Europa League, losing heavily to Ferencváros in the last round with a score of 1-4. Moreover, Malmö has lost 10 of their last 11 encounters in the second-tier European competition, securing only one win. It's also important to note that the team has not kept a clean sheet in the current group stage, with their streak of conceding goals in the Europa League extending to 11 matches. In the Europa League standings, Malmö is in 30th place, trailing the playoff zone by 2 points.
- The club has not scored more than one goal in 8 of their last 9 Europa League matches.
- At home, the team has lost without scoring in their last 5 second-tier European competition matches.
- No more than 2 goals have been scored in Malmö's last 5 home Europa League games.
Galatasaray
The Istanbul side remains unbeaten in the group stage of the Europa League, with 3 wins and 2 draws, placing them 4th in the standings, 2 points behind the leader. In their previous tournament match, the club drew 1-1 with AZ Alkmaar away. Notably, Galatasaray is among the 7 teams in the current Europa League campaign that have not lost in the main stage. Additionally, Okan Buruk's team shares the title of the most prolific club in the group stage with Ajax, having scored 13 goals.
- The team's scoring streak in the Europa League is 8 matches, with at least two goals scored in 5 of them.
- Both teams have scored in Galatasaray's last 8 matches in this tournament.
- The club has not won away in 5 Europa League matches (4 draws, 1 loss).
Malmö vs. Galatasaray: Match Prediction
The Swedish team suffered a heavy defeat in Hungary in the last round, although the scoreline doesn't reflect the nature of the game, which was generally even. Nevertheless, Malmö has performed poorly in the current Europa League campaign, unlike the visitors who are in the leading group. Even at home, the Scandinavians have shown disappointing results, losing without scoring in their last 5 Europa League matches. I don't think they'll break through in attack against such a strong opponent as Galatasaray.
But even if Malmö manages to end their 5-match goal drought in home second-tier European competition matches, it's unlikely they will score more than once. Considering that the Turkish team has not conceded more than one goal in 6 of their last 8 away Europa League matches.
Therefore, my prediction: Malmö Individual Total Under 1.5 goals
