Our prediction for this Champions League match:
Galatasaray
Match Time & Date:
18/09/2018
03:00 PM
Prediction: 1-1
Lokomotiv Moscow
Galatasaray play host to Lokomotiv Moscow at their Turk Telekom Stadyumu in the opening match of their Champions League campaign. The Turkish side will play a match in the elite competition for the first time since 2015 when they failed to make it to the knockout stages and, no doubt, they will host Lokomotiv in front of packed stadium. Lokomotiv Moscow return to the Champions League following a 14-year absence and, no doubt, they are eager to give fans some cheer. The two teams seem to be evenly matched ahead of Tuesday’s football game and we predict that they are going to share the spoils at Turk Telekom Stadyumu in the opening match of their Champions League campaign. A man to watch in the home team will be Switzerland international Eren Derdiyok, whereas Galatasaray defenders should have Peruvian winger Jefferson Farfan at bay.
Highlighted Player (Maicon):
Maicon Douglas Sisenando was born in Novo Hamburgo, Brazil on 26 July, 1981. The powerful full back started his senior career at Cruzeiro and in 2004 he moved to Ligue 1 side AS Monaco. After making 58 league appearances for les Rouges et Blancs he signed a five-year contract with Inter in 2006 and he won four Serie A trophies with the Nerazzurri.
In the 2009/2010 he participated in the Champions League final and he helped the Italian outfit beat Bayern Munich in the title game. On 31 August, 2012 Maicon moved to England, signing a deal with Manchester City, but he made no more than nine league appearances for the Citizens in the 2012/2013 season.
On 18 July, 2013 the Brazilian footballer returned to Italy as Man City allowed him to join AS Roma on a free transfer. He made 28 appearances for the Giallorossi in the 2013/2014 Serie A campaign, with the capital club finishing the season in second place in the standings. Maicon has 76 caps for Brazilian national team.
Highlighted Team (Lokomotiv Moscow):
Founded in 1922 as Kazanka, Lokomotiv Moscow are a Russian football club that play their home games at RZD Arena. The stadium was opened in July 2002 and the capacity of the venue is 27.320. Lokomotiv won their first Russian Premier League trophy in 2002, with the team finishing the season just above their local rivals CSKA Moscow.
The two teams were level on points (66), but thanks to a better head-to-head record Lokomotiv eventually lifted the trophy. Two years later (2004) the capital club repeated the success and once again CSKA Moscow finished second, only one point behind the Krasno-zelyonyye (Red-Greens). Lokomotiv Moscow have always been attracting high-profile footballers and it has to be noted that the likes of Felipe Caicedo, Peter Odemwingie, Branislav Ivanovic, Igor Denisov, Dmitri Torbinski, Vedran Corluka, Emir Spahic, Lassana Diarra and Jan Durica played for the club in the past.
Lokomotiv play their home games in green shirts and red shorts, while they wear white jerseys and white shorts when playing on the travels.
