Our prediction for this Europa League match:
Galatasaray play host to Lokomotiv Moscow at their Nef Stadium in a highly-anticipated Europa League clash. The Turkish outfit aim to retain top position in Group E, and given their display in a 1-0 win at RZD Arena two weeks ago, home win should be considered. All Boey, Turan, and Elabdellaoui are likely to miss the game with injuries for the home team. The Russians, on the other hand, have been anything but impressive in the Europa League group stages, with the team collecting only one point in the process.
Considering that Galatasaray are a real force to be reckoned with at home, we predict that Lokomotiv are going to return to Moscow empty-handed. Pablo returns from a domestic ban, while all Kamano, Ze Luis, Smolov, Miranchuk, Magkeev, and Cerqueira should miss out with injuries for the visiting team this time out.
Highlighted Player (Radamel Falcao):
Radamel Falcao, nicknamed the “Colombian Tiger”, is considered one of the best players in the history of Colombian football. The 177-cm-tall attacker is well known for his brilliant finishing and his header technique gives him an advantage in aerial battles with opposition defenders.
Falcao was born in Santa Marta, Colombia on 10 February, 1986 and he started his senior career at Lanceros Boyaca. He played for Argentine giants River Plate between 2005 and 2009 and in 2009 he joined Porto. After scoring 41 goals in 51 league appearances for the Dragons, Falcao signed for Atletico Madrid on 18 August 2011 for a fee of €40 million.
The Colombian attacker helped los Rojiblancos win Europa League trophy in 2012, scoring 12 goals in the process. He played for Monaco in the 2013/2014 Ligue 1 campaign and in 2014 he signed a loan deal with Manchester United. He scored just 4 goals in 26 league appearances for the Red Devils and was later loaned to Chelsea before returning to Stade Louis II.
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.