Champions League Matchday 8: Manchester City vs Galatasaray facts

Manchester City must respond to an unexpected setback if they are to seal direct passage to the UEFA Champions League round of 16, with Galatasaray well placed to join their Matchday 8 opponents in the knockout rounds.

Defeat at Bodø/Glimt on Matchday 7 has left Pep Guardiola's side 11th in the league phase table on 13 points; Galatasaray have ten and are 17th at kick-off.

Last match

This is the teams' first fixture.

City’s only previous meetings with a Turkish club came against Fenerbahçe in the 1968/69 European Cup first round, a tie they lost 1-2 on aggregate (0-0 h, 1-2 a).

A 1-0 home victory against Liverpool on Matchday 2 this season means Galatasaray are unbeaten in four matches against English teams (W3 D1).

The Turkish team claimed their first win in England on their most recent visit, 3-2 at Manchester United in the 2023/24 group stage; their record otherwise is D3 L7 with 25 goals conceded in those 11 games and 12 scored.

Manchester City

This is City's 15th successive season in the Champions League proper; they have featured in every campaign since 2011/12 and have reached the knockout stages in each of the last 12.

Having finished 22nd in last season's league phase (W3 D2 L3), City lost 3-6 on aggregate to holders Real Madrid in the knockout phase play-offs.

Galatasaray 

This is Galatasaray's 19th participation in the Champions League proper – more than every other Turkish club combined – but only a second in six seasons. That last campaign, in 2023/24, ended in the group stage – as had Gala's previous four forays into the competition.

The Istanbul club lost 2-4 on aggregate to Young Boys in last season's qualifying play-offs, going on to finish 14th in the league phase of the Europa League before being eliminated by AZ Alkmaar in the knockout phase play-offs.

Key stats

Galatasaray midfielder İlkay Gündoğan scored 65 goals in 358 games for City across two spells (2016–23, 2024/25) and was captain for the club's Champions League triumph in 2023.

Leroy Sané also played under Guardiola at City, scoring 39 times in 135 matches between 2016 and 2020.

City lost 0-2 against Bayer Leverkusen in their most recent home fixture, on Matchday 5, ending a 23-match unbeaten home run at this stage (W20 D3) stretching back to September 2018.

City also went down 3-1 at Bodø/Glimt on Matchday 7; they have not lost successive Champions League matches since a run of three defeats in a row in 2018.

Galatasaray drew 1-1 at home to Atlético de Madrid on Matchday 7 and have lost only two of their last six Champions League games (W3 D1), although they are without a win in three (D1 L2).

The Istanbul club have won only one of their last 12 away European games (D3 L8).

Galatasaray need two goals to become the first Turkish team to reach 250 in European Cup history.