Galatasaray will face French side Lille in a UEFA Champions League Group Stage match on Wednesday, 21 October 2026. The third-week encounter is set to kick off at 19:45 Türkiye Saati İle (TSİ) at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium and will be broadcast live and free on TRT 1, according to Hürriyet.
Match Preview and Team News
Lille, currently fourth in France’s Ligue 1 with 14 points after seven weeks, has been preparing for the match under the guidance of coach Davide Ancelotti. Ancelotti confirmed that Turkish international goalkeeper Berke Özer, who had missed a recent Ligue 1 match due to injury, is now fit and will start. "Berke is our number one goalkeeper and very important for the team. He will be ready and will play tomorrow," Ancelotti stated, as reported by NTVSpor. Lille also features Ümit national player Başar Önal, who has made four league appearances and one European appearance this season. Japanese forward Ayase Ueda is out with an injury.
Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk acknowledged that Lille would present a challenge, expecting a fast, transition-oriented team. "They have become a team that is a bit faster and suitable for transitions. We need to respond correctly to this, and our positioning when we have the ball is very important," Buruk told Hürriyet. Galatasaray’s Wilfried Singo expressed the team’s ambition: "A difficult match awaits us. We want to start by winning here. We don’t have any points yet. We want to return with 3 points from here." Galatasaray’s Nigerian star Victor Osimhen, who played for Lille in the 2019-2020 season, scoring 18 goals in 38 matches, will face his former club for the first time.
Expected Line-ups:
- Lille: Berke, Goffi, Alexsandro, Ngoy, Perraud, Andre, Mukau, Bakwa, Haraldsson, Bentaleb, Giroud
- Galatasaray: Uğurcan, Sallai, Sanchez, Abdülkerim, Jakobs, Torreira, Sara, Yunus, Batrakov, Barış, Osimhen
Referee Team Announced
The match will be officiated by Slovenian referee Rade Obrenovic. His assistants will be Jure Praprotnik and Matej Zunic, with Martin Matosa serving as the fourth official. VAR duties will be handled by Matej Jug, assisted by Dutch official Dennis Higler. Obrenovic, 36, has held a FIFA badge since 2017 and was promoted to UEFA’s elite category on 1 January 2026, according to Haberler. He previously officiated Trabzonspor’s 4-0 defeat to Ferencváros in the UEFA Europa League play-off in August 2026. His experience also includes a Champions League match between Union Berlin and Real Madrid (3-2) in the 2023-24 season, five matches as a fourth official at EURO 2024, and a UEFA Nations League fixture between Denmark and Spain.
Galatasaray’s European Campaign History
Galatasaray will be making its 172nd appearance in Europe’s premier club competition, combining its history in the European Champion Clubs’ Cup (35 matches) and the UEFA Champions League (136 matches). Overall, the Istanbul giant has recorded 46 wins, 40 draws, and 85 defeats in these tournaments, scoring 183 goals and conceding 290. In their last 32 Champions League group/knockout stage matches, Galatasaray has achieved 7 victories, 6 draws, and 19 losses. Furthermore, at least one goal has been scored in 41 of Galatasaray’s last 42 European matches, a streak that began after a 0-0 draw against Barcelona in the 2021-22 UEFA Europa League Round of 16.
