- Team form: Galatasaray SK are on a sequence of 1 win, 1 draw and 3 defeats in their last 5 matches.
- Opponent form: Çorum Belediyespor are on a 2-game winning streak after a 2-0 win at home to Bodrumspor and a 2-0 win away to Esenler Erokspor.
Home side Galatasaray SK a short 1.2 with bookmakers
Galatasaray SK, the clear heavyweights on paper, come into this match as 1.2 favorites at the time of writing and that seems extremely short when compared to the odds on Çorum Belediyespor (6.2). The bookmakers have got this one all wrong, in our view, as the underdogs can make this competitive for patches.
Home side Galatasaray SK are on a wobbling streak at the moment, having won 1, drawn 1 and lost 3 of their last 5 games. Okan Buruk has been head coach since 23 June 2022 and he has got his players playing a fluid, possession-based game with a lot of width and verticality when in the final third.
This can get the better of teams who sit deep, as the 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 will always stretch the field, but they need to be at their best for this one as it can be very easy to gift a counter-attack against.
Çorum’s compact, disciplined style can frustrate the home team
Manager and recent form
Yusuf Tokus has been in charge of Çorum since 20 July 2017 and he has honed his players into a compact, disciplined unit that are solid defensively and are more than capable of punching above their weight when they have to. Çorum are on a 2-game winning streak, having won 3, drawn 1 and lost 1 of their last 5 matches, and across all competitions, they have won 5, drawn 3 and lost 2 of their last 10.
Defensive gameplan
- Çorum's tight, pragmatic style is designed to frustrate bigger teams.
- The visitors, as the away team, will therefore sit deep, nick it, and punish Galatasaray SK if they gift them chances in transition.
- This has the feel of a possession versus counter-punch matchup.
Galatasaray to squeeze a narrow win
We think the likeliest outcome is still a home win, but Çorum are in good form and their defensive numbers across all venues suggest they can keep it competitive for spells against a team who should dominate the ball and territory.
Over 2.5 goals at 1.48 is not good enough for this game, while Both Teams to Score — No is 1.7. It's tempting to lean towards the underdogs, but we'll go with the 1-0 home win as our exact score prediction as we think Çorum will struggle to break through.
