Champions League line-ups: Juventus vs. Galatasaray

Skip to contentISTANBUL, TURKEY – FEBRUARY 17: Kenan Yildiz of Juventus runs with the ball during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off First Leg match between Galatasaray A.S. and Juventus at Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi on February 17, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)

Juventus have an epic task after losing the Champions League play-off first leg 5-2 to Victor Osimhen’s Galatasaray, hoping Kenan Yildiz and Jonathan David can turn this around.

It kicks off at the Allianz Juventus Stadium at 20.00 GMT (21.00 CET).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Atalanta vs. Borussia Dortmund on the Liveblog.

The Bianconeri have plunged into a deep crisis in recent weeks, scraping one draw from their last five competitive games.

That saw them crash out of the Coppa Italia quarter-final, slide to fifth place in Serie A, and be on the verge of Champions League elimination.

They had been leading 2-1 in Istanbul through a Teun Koopmeiners brace, but a disastrous Juan Cabal appearance off the bench saw him sent off and they were beaten 5-2.

Cabal is therefore suspended along with Andrea Cambiaso, while Gleison Bremer is only fit for the bench after a muscular issue.

Kenan Yildiz isn’t fully fit either, but the star man is their best hope of staying in Europe, and supports David upfront with Francisco Conceicao.

It means the ever-versatile Weston McKennie fills in at left-back this time, with Emil Holm, Dusan Vlahovic and Arek Milik injured.

Mattia Perin takes over the gloves following a series of Michele Di Gregorio howlers, including in the weekend’s 2-0 home defeat to Como.

Former Napoli striker Noa Lang scored twice in the Galatasaray home game and starts again this evening, while Osimhen has shaken off a knee injury to play upfront.

Mario Lemina is available to face his former club, having missed the first leg through suspension.

As the away goals rule no longer applies, Juventus must win by three clear goals to force extra time or even penalties.

Juventus vs. Galatasaray line-ups

Juventus: Perin; Kalulu, Gatti, Kelly, McKennie; Koopmeiners, Locatelli, K Thuram; Conceicao, David, Yildiz

Juventus bench: Di Gregorio, Pinsoglio, Bremer, Zhegrova, Boga, Adzic, Kostic, Openda, Miretti, Gil, Rizzo

Galatasaray: Cakir; Sallai, Sanchez, Bardakci, Jakobs; Torreira, Lemina; Alper Yilmaz, Gabriel Sara, Lang; Osimhen

Galatasaray bench: Batuhan Sen, Gunay Guvenc, Icardi, Sané, Yunus Akgun, Eren Elmali, Gundogan, Ahmed Kutucu, Asprilla, Kaan Ayhan, Singo, Boey

Ref: Joao Pinheiro (POR)

25-02-2026 20:00

Knockout phase play-offs

Juventus Stadium (Allianz Stadium)JuventusGalatasarayvs

Season Analytics

Juventus

Positions

Galatasaray

SEASON TOTALJUV HOME220342

Last matches

SEASON TOTALGSK AWAY103414

Last matches

BySusy Campanale

Original Article