Galatasaray v Tottenham: Back both attacking standouts to score 2+ goals in Istanbul | OneFootball

Galatasaray v Tottenham HotspurThursday 7 November, 17:45Live on TNT Sports 1

Goals to be had in Istanbul

It's been a fairly turbulent time since Ange Postecoglou took charge of Spurs, with his side going from sublime to fallible more times than you can remember.

At present, however, we currently find ourselves at another high point for the Lilywhites. With back-to-back wins over Manchester City and Aston Villa, Spurs look close to their top gear again, and capable of taking the game to just about anyone.

Ahead of a tricky looking trip to Istanbul to face Galatasaray, the question we now return to is: how long they can keep their foot on the accelerator?

Over in Europe specifically, things are looking good. Postecoglou's side have a perfect record in the Europa League this term, courtesy of three wins from three games. Indeed, they're one of only three sides still owning a 100% record, along with Lazio and Anderlecht, cementing their position as one of the strongest sides we expected to see in the 2024-25 edition.

We know about Spurs' pedigree - particularly on the attacking end - but their opponents bring plenty of credentials to this one too.

Across the opening three matchdays of this season's Europa League, Galatasaray's games have seen more goals scored (15) than any other team (nine for, six against). What's more, their matches have also seen the highest combined xG total (12.5), with the heavy lifting for that being done by their own tournament-high xG of 8.1.

In this competition, it's clear that the Turkish side pack some real attacking firepower. They've netted nine times in three games so far, and that's even without Victor Osimhen yet having come to the party as a scorer this term. Yunus Akgün (3) and Mauro Icardi (2) have both netted multiple times, with only Lazio (3) having more players already on more than one goal.

Throw in the fact that Spurs are expected to be without both Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven for this game, and this one just screams goals at both ends.

Across Galatasaray's last 15 games in European competition, both teams have scored 2+ goals in over half of them (8/15). Meanwhile, the goals per game average across these fixtures stands at 4.1.

In what promises to be a pounding atmosphere, and a match-up between two sides who aren't shy in speculating, I'll go with both sides to score more than once in this one.

Osimhen and Son to animate proceedings

Victor Osimhen may still be looking for his first goal in this season's Europa League, but he's been banging on the door in the meantime.

The Nigerian forward has racked up 11 shots in just two appearances in the competition this term, with all 11 of those coming from inside the box. No player has had more from inside the penalty area, despite Osimhen only having played 164 minutes so far.

Besides, the 25-year-old is never too far away from a goal in Europe. Prior to this season, Osimhen had netted 11 goals in 17 games in European competition, averaging one every 110 minutes across that run of matches. Indeed, those were mostly at a higher level too, coming in the Champions League.

As for the visitors, I'm drawn to Son Heung-min's potential presence in the starting XI here. The 32-year-old registered an assist versus Aston Villa at the weekend, but was withdrawn in the 56th minute - probably between a combination of Spurs easing him back after injury and with a potential eye on Thursday's game in Istanbul.

Galatasaray away doesn't look like a game in which Ange Postecoglou will be quite so willing to play as many youngsters as in previous Europa League games this season, which should mean more senior presence in the starting XI, including the South Korean.

There will be some doubt about his fitness, but Son certainly didn't look too pleased to be substituted against Aston Villa at the weekend. That should hopefully be an indicator he's feeling good and ready to start increasing his workload again, ahead of a tough-looking European fixture.

Son has been directly involved in 32 goals in his last 39 starts for Spurs across all competitions, scoring 20 times and providing 12 assists. If he's cleared to start here, an end-to-end game should suit him well on the attacking front.