Turkey vs Georgia predictions: Turks can sour Georgian debut
- Turkey are winless across their last five fixtures
- Georgia’s last win over the Crescent-Stars came in 2007
- Recommended bet: Turkey to win and under 2.5 goals
Group F finally gets underway on Tuesday as Vincenzo Montella’s Turkey take on a Georgia side participating in their first major tournament in their history.
The Crescent-Stars managed to top their group ahead of Croatia in qualifying and they will be confident that they can claim a first victory at a major tournament since 2016.
Team news
Vincenzo Montella's Turkey headed into Germany amidst an injury crisis, with Caglar Soyuncu, Eres Unal and Cengiz Under all ruled out of Euro 2024. However there are no members of his final 26-man squad currently at risk of missing the opener.
Captain Hakan Calhanoglu and teenage sensation Arda Guler will be expected to start from the off for Turkey, while former Everton striker Cenk Tosun could lead the line given he has the most international goals of any member of the squad (20).
Georgia boss Willy Sagnol could be without Solomon Kvirkvelia and Otar Kiteishvili, who are carrying knocks and are expected to be rested.
Star forward and major attacking threat Khvicha Kvaratskhelia should be fit enough to start and the Napoli man will be hoping to make history by becoming the first Georgian to score at the European Championships.
The stats
Turkey topped Group D in qualifying with 17 points, one point ahead of second-placed Croatia.
The Turks lost each of their three group matches at Euro 2020, scoring just once.
The Crescent-Stars have lost three of their last four matches, including an embarrassing 6-1 thrashing by Austria.
Georgia qualified via the play-offs, beating Greece on penalties to reach the finals.
The Crusaders won their sole pre-tournament friendly against Montenegro 3-1.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored four goals in qualifying — one third of Georgia’s total goals in Group A.
Prediction
Despite missing a number of players that would usually feature from the off, Turkey will still be expected to get off to a winning start in Euro 2024 against the inexperienced Georgia.
This is Turkey’s third European Championship in a row and, while their previous performances have seen just one win and two consecutive group-stage exits, one victory could be enough to qualify for the knockout stages.
Georgia will not want to just make up the numbers but, in a group alongside Portugal and the Czech Republic, it is difficult to see where the points will come for the Crusaders.
A heavy defeat is unlikely given Turkey’s form heading into the tournament. Three of Turkey’s last five matches have seen winners in the under 2.5 goals market while the same is true of two of Georgia’s last three and another could be in store on Tuesday.
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