It’s been a rough winter for Schalke, who have descended into virtual irrelevance in Germany. They were one of the hottest teams in Europe back in fall, following their stunning away victories against Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund, but they’ve plunged down into ninth place. They don’t have a full-time manager, they sold Lewis Holtby in January without buying a direct replacement, and they’ve been unable to cope with injury problems.
Galatasaray vs. Schalke, 2013 UEFA Champions League: Preview and TV schedule
It’s been a tough winter for Schalke, who are falling off a cliff. They’re underdogs away to Galatasaray.
Meanwhile, Galatasaray have enjoyed a resurgence as of late. They're on top of the Turkish Super Lig, six points clear of bitter rivals Fenerbahçe. They added veteran stars Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba in the winter, both of whom are expected to start against Schalke. This looked like a potentially even tie, with Schalke holding a slight upper-hand when the draw was made, but Gala are now the clear favorites to advance to the quarterfinals.
Galatasaray injuries and suspensions
Out: Thomas Ujfalusi, Johan Elmander.
Schalke injuries and suspensions
Out: Atsuto Uchida, Ibrahim Afellay, Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Ciprian Marica, Christoph Moritz, Lars Unnerstall, Raffael.
Yeah, that Schalke injury list is absolutely brutal. Because of their lack of depth in central defense and Holtby’s sale, Papadopoulos and Afellay will be massive losses. Galatasaray’s injuries are hardly a concern.
Match date/time: Wednesday, 2:45 p.m. ET, 8:45 p.m. local
Venue: Turk Telecom Arena, Istanbul, Turkey
TV: FOX Sports Net affiliates and FOX Soccer Plus (U.S.), Sky Sports 4 (U.K.), Sportsnet World (Canada), Sky Sports 2 (Germany), Smart Spor (Turkey)
Online: FOX Soccer 2 Go (U.S.)
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