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June 13 2024, 01:04 · Alex Lawes

Turkey vs Georgia Preview & Prediction | UEFA EURO 2024 | Group Stage

Turkey vs Georgia Preview & Prediction | UEFA EURO 2024 | Group Stage
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Vincenzo Montella and Willy Sagnol meet in Dortmund on Tuesday as Turkey face Georgia in Group F with the perennial UEFA European Championship qualifiers Turkey taking on debutants, Georgia.

KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Tuesday 18th June, 2024 - UK – 5:00pm / US EST – 12:00pm / US PST – 10:00am

HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – BBC / US – FOX

HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – BBC iPlayer / US – VIX

TURKEY PREVIEW: DARK HORSES AGAIN?

Turkey went into UEFA EURO 2020 tipped up by many as the, forgive the phrase, ‘dark horses’. That infamous tag was then followed by the Turks scoring just one goal and collecting no points in three group stage games against Italy, Wales and Switzerland. Vincenzo Montella, once again, though, has a bright generation of stars coming through to work with.

Their 6-1 annihilation at the hands of Austria in March perhaps show some of the warning signs that were there back in 2021, too, and, prior to facing Poland last week, they were winless in four matches. Their star and gem will surely be Real Madrid’s Arda Guler with Montella needing to make a decision on functionality or simply all out attack with what is a vibrant squad.

GEORGIA PREVIEW: GEORGIA’S GIORGI’S & GEORGES

Coached by former France international defender Willy Sagnol, Georgia will be playing at their first ever major tournament this summer having qualified via the UEFA Nations League playoff route with a victory over Luxembourg in the semi-finals and then a defeat of Greece on penalties in the final in Tbilisi.

The Georgians do possess some real quality at both ends of the pitch with Valencia goalkeeper and reported Newcastle United target Giorgi Mamardashvili as well as Georges Mikautadze of Lens and Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in attack. Georgia head into the tournament as massive underdogs but having suffered just one defeat in seven matches and that came against Spain.

TURKEY TEAM NEWS: FINDING THE BALANCE

The big talking point in Turkey for Vincenzo Montella to find a solution to is Arda Guler. The Real Madrid starlet finished Los Blancos' La Liga winning campaign in excellent form and alongside Hakan Calhanoglu and Yusuf Yazici makes for an exciting trio behind Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz. Injuries at the back mean a likely experienced back-line including former Juventus man Merih Demiral and vice-captain Kaan Ayhan.

PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Cakir; Ayhan, Demiral, Bardacki, Kadioglu; Kokcu, Ozcan; Yazici, Calhanoglu, Guler; Yildiz

UNAVAILABLE: Celik (Injured)

QUESTIONABLE:

GEORGIA TEAM NEWS: IMPORTANCE OF KVARADONA

33-year-old centre-back Solomon Kvirkvelia missed Georgia's warm-up victory over Montenegro but is expected to start if he has recovered in time. Otar Kiteishvili is in the same bracket in midfield. The key area of the pitch will be pace on the break with the likes of Watford attacker Giorgi Chakvetadze as well as the aforementioned duo of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze.

PREDICTED XI (3-4-3): Mamardashvili; Kvirkvelia, Kashia, Dvali; Kakabadze, Kiteishvili, Kochorashvili, Shengalia; Chakvetadze, Mikautadze, Kvaratskhelia

UNAVAILABLE:

QUESTIONABLE:

KEY STATS

  • This is Türkiye’s third successive EURO appearance.
  • Türkiye lost only one of their eight matches in qualifying for EURO 2024 (W5 D2) and finished first in a EURO qualifying group for the first time.
  • Türkiye have lost only one of their previous five matches against Georgia (W3 D1). This is their first meeting since a friendly in May 2012 in Austria which was won 3-1 by Türkiye.
  • Türkiye have lost six of their last seven EURO matches (W1).
  • Türkiye have lost their opening match in each of their previous five EURO final tournament campaigns.
  • Türkiye have won only four of their previous 18 EURO matches (D2 L12).
  • Türkiye have kept only one clean sheet in their last 12 EURO matches.
  • Türkiye have lost only two of their last 14 competitive matches (W9 D3).
  • This is Georgia’s EURO debut and their first appearance in a major final tournament.
  • Georgia have lost only four of their last 18 competitive matches (W10 D4).
  • Georgia have kept three clean sheets in their last five competitive matches.

TURKEY VS GEORGIA PREDICTION

Now then, Turkey enter the tournament, once again, with a fair bit of hope. The Turks have an excellent set of attackers, led by captain Hakan Calhanoglu and Real Madrid youngster Arda Guler. Their 6-1 defeat to Austria leaves a lot of room for reservations about their consistency, though. Georgia are debutants and qualified via Path C of the UEFA Nations League playoffs but a strong defensive unit, one of the best goalkeepers in La Liga last season and a couple of genuinely good attackers will mean they are not overwhelming minnows. Having said that, though, Turkey must surely come out on top.

TURKEY VS GEORGIA TIP: TURKEY TO WIN