Galatasaray v Barcelona: Catalans aim to extend perfect start in Istanbul

Barcelona travel to Turkey on Tuesday to face Galatasaray in the second round of the UEFA Champions League league phase, with both sides looking to respond to contrasting opening results.

The Catalans began their European campaign with a 5-1 victory over Feyenoord and will be seeking another win. Galatasaray, meanwhile, were beaten 3-1 by Sporting and must recover in front of their home supporters.

The match will be played on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, at 19:00 GMT at the Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex RAMS Park in Istanbul.

In France, the game will be shown on Canal+. UK viewers can watch on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and HBO Max, while Movistar+ will broadcast it in Spain. Coverage in Germany will be provided by DAZN, with Sky and Amazon Prime Video showing the match in Italy.

The Belgian broadcasters are RTL, VTM, Proximus and Play Sports. In the Netherlands, the fixture will be available on Ziggo Sport, while Sport TV and DAZN hold the rights in Portugal. Paramount+, TUDN and DAZN will show the game in the United States.

beIN Sports will broadcast in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), while coverage in sub-Saharan Africa will be available through SuperSport, Canal+ Afrique and New World TV.

Previous meetings

The clubs last met in the last 16 of the Europa League in 2022. Following a goalless first leg, Barcelona won 2-1 in Turkey to secure their place in the next round.

Galatasaray’s most recent victory over Barcelona came in 1994. Since then, the Catalan side have won four meetings, with the other two ending in draws.

Contrasting form

Galatasaray will hope home advantage can help them challenge the competition favourites. After their defeat by Sporting in the UEFA Champions League, they returned to winning ways domestically by beating Kasimpasa 3-1.

However, they will need to show greater defensive resilience if they are to contain Barcelona’s attacking threat.

Barcelona arrive in Istanbul with a perfect record this season. They have won all nine of their matches in all competitions and scored 39 goals. After their 5-1 success against Feyenoord, Hansi Flick’s side defeated Getafe 3-0 in La Liga.

They will now attempt to carry that impressive domestic form into their second European fixture.

Barcelona are considered clear favourites, with the available probabilities placing their chances of victory at 79%. A draw is rated at 16%, while Galatasaray have a 5% chance of winning.

Africafoot’s prediction is a 3-0 victory for Barcelona.

The listed 1xbet odds are 9.00 for a Galatasaray win, 7.00 for a draw and 1.25 for Barcelona to win.