Photo courtesy of Rizespor’s official Facebook page
Galatasaray will have the opportunity to hand Rizespor only their second loss of the Super League season when they play for the first time at their Ali Sami Yen stadium for the first time since their 6-1 loss to Real Madrid. This game is not expected to be nearly as hard as that one, so maybe the home side will not be looking to expend all of their energy.
Gala will be playing for the first time without their head coach Fatih Terim, who was fired earlier in the week. Rumors are floating that the favorite to replace him is none other than former Manchester City coach Roberto Mancini. However, if that is to happen, he will not take charge until early next week, which means that tomorrow’s game will be led by assistants Umit Davala and Hasan Sas.
The home side obviously do have a lead on the field in Didier Drogba, who will know exactly how to orchestrate the entire squad on the field even while playing. This will be a very good weapon for the players as they all respect the Ivorian’s knowledge as he has single-handedly won games for the club.
However, now might be a good time to remind you all that Rizespor always has shown no fear when it comes to this season in big road games. Rize lost 2-1 at Trabzonspor but won 5-2 in Gaziantepspor. Now that they are visiting the league champions for the first time in five years for a top-flight meeting, they will be hungry for success.
Arguably, their best players are newcomers at left-back Ali Adnan, who has a rocket for a left foot, and captain Sercan Kaya who has been scoring at will. These two always seem to play at the top of their game, which leads the way for the rest of their teammates.
This is an expected win for Gala but recently, they have been inconsistent, which means that the visitors can build on their confidence by achieving a memorable result in Istanbul.
