2014 Champions League finalists Atletico Madrid will start their 2015-16 campaign with a trip to Turkish champions Galatasaray in their opening match of the group stage.
The two sides had contrasting fortunes in this phase of the competition last year, with Diego Simeone's side topping their group, while Galatasaray were last in theirs.
Galatasaray
© Getty Images
A third title in four seasons has restored Galatasaray's status as Turkey's most successful club domestically, with their 20th title moving them back ahead of 19-time champions Fenerbahce.
Hamza Hamzaoglu takes charge of the side for his first full season as manager, having been appointed in December last year, when the club's Champions League challenge was already over following a poor run of form under Cesare Prandelli.
Galatasaray failed to secure a win in their six outings in the group stage last season, picking up just one point from a 1-1 draw with Anderlecht, while conceding four goals in both of their meetings with Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund.
The club has reached the quarter-finals just once in the last 14 years in this competition, losing 5-3 on aggregate to Real Madrid in the last eight during the 2012-13 campaign.
The manager has been strengthening his squad over the summer, bringing in experienced players like Lukas Podolski from Arsenal and Kevin Grosskreutz from Borussia Dortmund, while young centre-back Jason Denayer has come in on loan from Manchester City following a spell with Celtic last season.
However, it has been a difficult start to the domestic season with Galatasaray, with the champions winning just one of their first four matches, while being held to a 1-1 draw by Mersin Idmanyurdu at the weekend.
Recent form: DLLLLL
Recent form (all competitions): WDLLWD
Atletico Madrid
© AFP
Having been beaten by local rivals Real Madrid in the 2014 final, Atletico Madrid were unable to match their performance in Europe's top club competition last season, bowing out in the quarter-finals at the hands of their neighbours again.
Diego Simeone's side come into this match off the back of their first defeat in La Liga this season, letting a lead slip early in the second half to lose 2-1 to reigning Spanish and European champions Barcelona.
Atletico have made significant additions to their squad in the summer as they prepare to challenge for the league title and Champions League crown again, bringing in prolific striker Jackson Martinez from Porto, while AS Monaco winger Yannick Ferreira Carrasco has also moved to the Vicente Calderon.
The visit to Galatasaray will be the first of four matches in a busy 11-day period for Atletico, with games against Eibar, Getafe and Villarreal in the league all coming up in the next fortnight for the La Liga side.
No lead goalscorer has emerged for Atletico so far this season, with all five of their goals in the league coming from different scorers, including Martinez and Fernando Torres.
Until hosting Barcelona at the weekend, Atletico had not conceded in a competitive fixture this season, but Jan Oblak was beaten by Lionel Messi and Neymar on Saturday.
Recent form: WDLWDL
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWWL
Team News
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The home side will be missing Hamit Altintop as he continued to battle a knee injury, while Aurelien Chedjou misses out with a back injury.
Lukas Podolski should make his Champions League debut for the Turkish club, while Burak Yilmaz is likely to continue in attack.
Atletico will be missing recently re-signed defender Filipe Luis, having aggravated a leg injury that has limited his involvement at the start of the season during the defeat to Barcelona at the weekend.
Jackson Martinez was on the bench at the weekend, which could indicate that he was being rested for this match, although Torres may have done enough to retain his place in the starting lineup after netting against the Catalan side.
Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Muslera, Carole, Balta, Kaya, Sarioglu, Rodriguez, Inan, Sneijder, Oztekin, Podolski, Yilmaz
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak, Juanfran, Gimenez, Godin, Gamez, Tiago, Gabi, Koke, Griezmann, Torres, Martinez
Head To Head
Galatasaray and Atletico most recently met in a pre-season friendly last season, when they shared a goalless draw at the Izmir Ataturk Stadium.
Their most recent competitive matches were in the 2009-10 Europa League though, when Atletico secured a 3-2 aggregate win, sharing a 1-1 draw at home before clinching the win in Istanbul.
Galatasaray also had a Spanish opponent in their group two years ago, struggling to 4-1 and 6-1 defeats to Real Madrid, while Atletico thrashed Besiktas when they took on the Turkish side in the quarter-finals of the Europa League in 2012.
We say: Galatasaray 1-3 Atletico Madrid
Galatasaray have not played their best football in this competition in recent seasons, while Atletico will be keen to make a strong start to their campaign as they look to make the knockout stage for a third straight campaign. The hosts have strengthened over the summer, but not as much as their opponents, making an away win seem the most likely outcome.
Sian Cowper
