Galatasaray vs Pardubice

Sportzentrum Graz-Weinzödl plays host to the first-ever showdown between Turkish powerhouse Galatasaray and Czech Republic minnows Pardubice.

Galatasaray’s poor start to their off-season campaign had seen them lose back-to-back summer friendlies by a single-goal margin before putting two unanswered goals past Sigma Olomouc last time out. But entertainment has been relatively sparse in Galatasaray’s recent matches, as four of their previous six have featured under 2.5 goals, highlighting the potential for a low-scoring affair. The Turkish giants are dealing with a form crisis, as they have only won two of their last seven outings (D2, L3), netting one goal or fewer in 57% of them. They can at least draw some confidence from decent defensive showings of late, having conceded under 1.5 goals in three of their last four fixtures.

On the other hand, Pardubice’s blistering start to pre-season preparations, featuring consecutive victories ‘to one,’ now looks like a remote memory. Coming into this encounter, the Czech Republic side are winless in four friendly matches, going from back-to-back defeats to a pair of draws. Barring an action-packed 2-2 stalemate with Sigma Olomouc B, Jiri Krejci’s men have failed to find the back of the net in three of their last four exhibition contests, underlining their growing issues up top. On the bright side, Pardubice have won three of their previous four games away from home without conceding a single goal in any of those success (L1).