Preview: Galatasaray vs. Arsenal

They may have done it the hard way, but for the 15th season in succession, Arsenal qualified for knockout stages on matchday five thanks to a 2-0 victory over group leaders Borussia Dortmund.

Now, Arsene Wenger's men travel to Istanbul on Wednesday evening to take on eliminated Galatasaray, with top spot in their sights.

For the Gunners to overhaul Dortmund, they must take all three points from their clash with Gala and hope that the Germans lose to Anderlecht. A draw for Dortmund would leave Arsenal relying on a swing in goal difference.

Despite the fact that nothing but a win would do to secure first place, Wenger is expected to rotate his starting lineup, with summer signing Alexis Sanchez not expected to make the trip to Turkey.

Theo Walcott, David Ospina, Jack Wilshere, Mesut Ozil, Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Debuchy are all injuries absentees, while fringe players such as Lukas Podolski and Joel Campbell could be given a run-out.

As for hosting Gala, Selcuk Inan is suspended and Blerim Dzemaili has a hamstring complaint, but aside from that, new head coach Hamza Hamzaoglu has a fully fit squad to select from.

When the two teams met back in October in North London, a Danny Welbeck hat-trick inspired Arsenal to a 4-1 victory.

Prior to that, the only other clash between the sides came in the 2000 UEFA Cup final in Copenhagen, where Gala won 4-1 on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes.

Galatasaray:

Form in Champions League: LDLLLW Form in all competitions: WLLWWW

Possible starting lineup: Muslera; Sarioglu, Chedjou, Kaya, Telles; Sneijder, Kurtulus, Colak, Bruma; Yilmaz, Bulut

Arsenal:

Form in Champions League: WLWWDW Form in all competitions: LLWWWL

Possible starting lineup: Szczesny; Gibbs, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Bellerin; Flamini, Ramsey; Podolski, Campbell, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Welbeck

Sports Mole says: 0-0