Galatasaray v Ostersunds Betting Tips: Swedes to hold out away from home

Despite being favourites last week, Galatasaray came unstuck against Swedish side Ostersunds and now find themselves without a precious away-goal and trailing by two. The Turkish club will of course fancy their chances of turning things around on home soil but they’ve certainly put themselves in a difficult position and it is the visitors who’re likely to come here with more confidence.

Even though they failed to live up to expectations last week, Galatasaray are still heavily fancied by the bookies ahead of this one as they stand at a general price of 1/3 in the betting. However, there’s absolutely no guarantee that they’ll find the required improvement and so such a price seems to be something of an overestimation. Ostersunds have the benefit of being in season right now, something which was evident when this pair met last week, and, with a two-goal cushion, hold all the cards. At 5/2, ‘Ostersunds Win/Draw Double Chance’ is very hard to resist. It would be no surprise at all if the Swedes were able to upset the Turks for the second Thursday running.

Although they were slightly less active in getting forward, Ostersunds were by far the most productive when they did venture into the final third and, in all honesty, played the game with a degree of comfort. Given that they looked more than capable of keeping the Turkish outfit at bay, plus the fact that counter-attacking opportunities should arise in this fixture, it’s hard to see why Ostersunds have been completely dismissed in the betting. Overall, having won just two of their last five on the road, their away form hasn’t been the greatest; however, the fact that they’ve got a commanding lead really should help them here. With the way things currently stand, Ostersunds should be able to approach with caution before looking to pounce on the counter – something they managed to do with great effect once in the lead last week.

Prior to that defeat last week, Galatasaray had been in decent form having won back-to-back friendlies but there’s nothing like playing competitive football and, frankly, they lacked a cutting edge in that first-leg and will need to improve massively here. In front of their own fans, improvement isn’t out of the question but, with a two-goal deficit to overturn, they’re certainly on the back foot. Scoring goals is part and parcel of the game for Igor Tudor’s men at home and, considering that they’ve only failed to score twice on their own patch since the turn of the year, you’d probably have to fancy them to score in this one. However, problems could once again be arise the other end of the pitch, especially since they’re chasing. Ostersunds looked like a side who’re well accustomed to playing on the counter during the first-leg and are likely to thrive on it once again.

A secondary bet that catches the eye, something of a saver so to speak, is ‘Both Teams to Score’ at even-money. With Galatasaray having to have a real go here, it would be no surprise if they were to get on the score-sheet but the visitors cannot be ruled out either and could very easily profit on the break (again). What’s more, the hosts have notched in four of their last five at home while the same can be said for Ostersunds on the their travels.

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