Manchester City vs Galatasaray (UEFA Champions League): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How To Watch | OneFootball

After a comfortable 2–0 victory over Wolves, Manchester City turn attentions to Europe as they look to secure direct qualification into the Champions League Last-16.

City welcomed relegation-threatened Wolves to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday knowing a win would pile pressure on league leaders Arsenal, who were set to host Manchester United. Pep Guardiola’s side rarely looked troubled and were in control almost from the off.

The breakthrough came just six minutes in when Omar Marmoush met a superb cross from Matheus Nunes, and City continued to dominate possession and territory, doubling their advantage shortly before half-time as Antoine Semenyo calmly converted.

Wolves struggled to create clear openings, with their best opportunity arriving deep into stoppage time. Yerson Mosquera saw two efforts blocked inside the penalty area – the first by Nico O’Reilly and the second by O’Reilly and Marc Guehi – summing up an afternoon of frustration for the visitors.

The win reduced the gap at the top and left Arsenal needing all three points on Sunday to maintain their cushion. However, the hosts suffered defeat to Manchester United, cutting City’s deficit to just four points with 15 matches remaining.

Attention now turns back to the Champions League, where City will be eager to respond after a bitter defeat to Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt. A 3-1 loss in the Arctic Circle has left direct qualification to the last-16 hanging in the balance.

To secure direct passage to the round of 16, Pep Guardiola’s side must take all three points and rely on slip-ups from at least three teams between themselves and Bayern Munich.

Galatasaray travel to the Etihad Stadium having won two of their last five, and there remains a slim chance the Turkish champions could also qualify directly for the round of 16, though doing so would require all 10 teams between them and the top-eight to lose or draw.

The fixture also marks the return of former Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan and fan favourite Leroy Sane, who himself has registered 13 goal involvements in 27 appearances for Galatasaray. As for Gundogan, the midfield great has contributed five across 20 matches, with both former City men becoming integral figures in the Turkish side during their debut.

With both sides needing victory to avoid the uncertainty of the UEFA Champions League’s last-16 play-off round, the stage is set for a high-stakes European showdown under the lights at the Etihad Stadium this week.

Here is everything you need to know as Manchester City face Galatasaray this week!

Match Details

Manchester City vs Galatasaray kicks off at 20:00 (UK) on Wednesday 28 January at the Etihad Stadium.

Match Officials

Alejandro Hernandez will officiate this match-up, it what will be his first time overseeing a Manchester City match.

You can check out the full list of match officials for the clash in Spain below!

Team News

After picking up a red card against Bodo/Glimt, Rodri is suspended. The Spaniard is eligible to play in the next round of the competition, however, with the dismissal being issued after a second yellow in the 3-1 defeat last week.

Ruben Dias remains sidelined, but the Portuguese centre-back could return to the squad for the upcoming Premier League fixture against Liverpool. John Stones also remains sidelined along with Josko Gvardiol, who is set for a return in over two months time.

Mateo Kovacic will again be unavailable as he continues to recover from surgery on his heel, whilst Nico Gonzalez remains a doubt and is due an assessment ahead of the match with his involvement not fully ruled out.

Savinho and Oscar Bobb are both ruled out of contention, and the former has made his return to gym work suggesting a return is due soon, while the latter is reportedly closing in on a permanent transfer to Fulham in the final days of the ongoing January market.

Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi are both unregistered for the league phase of this season’s UEFA Champions League, although both will be registered for the knock-out stages.

As for Galatasaray, the Turkish giants will be without Enes Buyuk, Wilfried Singo, and Arda Unyay through injury, whilst Metehan Baltaci also misses out through suspension.

Pep Guardiola’s Press Conference Quotes

On facing Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan: “Not bad at all! A huge contribution and my grateful is eternal for both of them. Incredibly lovely persons, incredible mates. Happy to see them back tomorrow!”

“What I expect is the people [the fans] come [to the Etihad Stadium] tomorrow, support us in the bad moments we’ll have because they are a top team. I have a huge respect for how good they [Galatasaray] are.”

On whether Nico Gonzalez will be fit: “Today is the last training [session before the game], we’ll assess today.”

Head To Head

This fixture will mark the first-ever competitive meeting between the two sides, adding an extra layer of intrigue to a matchup with no historical blueprint to follow.

Statistics

Manchester City have scored two or more goals in six of their last seven UEFA Champions League home games.

In the current league phase, only Paris Saint-Germain has registered more shots on target than Manchester City’s 51.

The last English team to defeat Galatasaray in the Champions League was Arsenal back in December 2014. Since then, Galatasaray is unbeaten in three matches against English opponents in the competition (W2 D1).

Four of Galatasaray’s last five away games in all competitions have seen both teams score.

City leads all teams in the current 2025-26 league phase with the highest passing accuracy at 91.6%

The Turkish side has struggled away from home in Europe, with only one win in their last 12 away matches in continental competitions.

Galatasaray needs two goals in this match to become the first Turkish team to reach 250 Champions League goals scored historically.

A defeat here against Galatasaray would be City’s first back-to-back home losses in the Champions League since 2018/19.

Galatasaray have spent one of the longest total amounts of time playing with a lead in UCL matches this season (247 minutes), second only to Bayern Munich.

How To Watch

For viewers in the UK the game will be available to stream on Prime Video, discovery+, and TNT sports. Radio coverage will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Viewers in the USA will be able to stream on Paramount+ and VIX.

A full list of global TV listings can be found here!

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on X, Facebook and Instagram throughout the matchday, with content also on cityxtra.co.uk!