Galatasaray v Manchester United: Champions League – live | Champions League

“Welcome from Hell!” writes our man in Istanbul. “The atmosphere is starting to pick up in the Rams Park now the players are out on the pitch. Getting to the stadium was a nightmare, it’s been raining all day and there was a risk at one stage that the match would be off. But here we are and readying ourselves for what should be a night of noise and possible drama. There are rarely guarantees in football but there is one tonight: it is going to be deafening.”

Galatasaray: Muslera, Boey, Bardakci, Ayhan, Angelino, Torreira, Ndombele, Ziyech, Mertens, Zaha, Icardi.

Subs: Akturkoglu, Demirbay, Guvenc, Tete, Nelson, Sergio Oliveira, Baris Yilmaz, Karatas, Bakambu.

Manchester United: Onana, Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Lindelof, Shaw, McTominay, Amrabat, Antony, Bruno Fernandes, Grenache, Hojlund.

Subs: Bayindir, Martial, Reguilon, Varane, Dalot, Heaton, Pellistri, Mainoo, Gore, Mejbri, Hugill.

So, what happens if tonight’s match is postponed? Or starts but has to be abandoned because Scott McTominay has just skittered 30 yards across the pitch on his backside and ended up gatecrashing the opposition dug-out while trying to tackle Wilf Zaha? Let’s go to Uefa’s Rules and Regulations to find out!

“If a match cannot start or cannot be played in full,” says Article 27, a personal favourite of mine. “The full or remaining match time is, as a rule, played the next day, without prejudice to any possible disciplinary measures. For that purpose, home clubs must conclude all the necessary agreements to ensure required facilities are available and can be operated.”

Should the sides be forced to meet tomorrow, Manchester United’s appointment with Newcastle at St James’ Park on Saturday night would almost certainly have to be rescheduled.

One of several Premier League sides currently suffering an injury crisis, Manchester United go into this game with Mason Mount, Jonny Evans, Casemiro, Amad Diallo, Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen and Tyrell Malacia all unavailable for one reason or another, while Marcus Rashford is suspendced.

Following his excellent performance against Everton on Sunday, 18-year-old midfielder Kobbie Mainoo could make his Champions League debut in only his second appearance of the season, while Antony and Rasmus Hojlund are expected to be available for selection despite missing out on Sunday.

Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk lost Davinson Sanchez to a hamstring injury during his side’s 4-0 win over Alanyaspor on Saturday, while the former Tottenham Hotspur man’s fellow central defender, Abdulkerim Bardakci, is also facing a race against the clock to be fit. Wilfried Zaha, who left Crystal Palace for the Turkish champions during the summer, is expected to line up on the left wing, while Tanguy Ndombele, Hakim Ziyech, Dries Mertens and Mauro Icardi are other familiar names likely to feature for the home side.

It’s been lashing rain in Istanbul all day, the deluge accompanied by thunder, lightning and strong winds. Match officials at Rams Park carried out a pitch inspection earlier this afternoon and despite reports that the prospect of the game going ahead looked bleak, Uefa insist the game between Galatasaray and Manchester United will take place tonight.

Or will it? More recently, Sky Sports News have reported that there has been no let-up in the weather and said the ball used in the pitch inspection was not bouncing or rolling properly on a pitch that is clearly water-logged. They have also warned fans travelling to the game that some of the roads leading to the stadium are flooded and impassable. While there is no doubt Galatasaray will send an army of ground staff out to prod the pitch with forks, there is only so much they can do and Uefa’s copper bottomed confidence that the match will definitely take place seems more than a little misplaced.

While I’d like to think I speak for most football fans when I say that few sights are more entertaining than the spectacle of unwittingly out-of-control players aquaplaning 40 yards down the touchline andd crashing feet first into an advertising hoarding as they chase an uncooperative ball around a completely waterlogged pitch, staging a game in such atrocious conditions is probably a mite too dangerous. While the heart says the game should definitely be played, the head hopes common sense will prevail.

Rams Park in Istanbul is the venue for tonight’s match between the Turkish champions and the most out-of-sorts but somehow in-form team in the Premier League. At the foot of the group table with just three points to their name after four games, Manchester United need to win to have any realistic hopes of advancing to the knockout stages, although a draw could conceivably be enough to help them claw their way into the last 16.

Lose and they are definitely out of the Champions League and could even miss out on the consolation prize of place in the Europa League depending on the outcome of tonight’s other Group A match between Bayern Munich and Copenhagen.

Currently sitting third in the group, one point ahead of United, Galatasaray’s future in this season’s Champions League will remain up in the air going into the final round of group games whatever the outcome tonight. Kick-off in Istanbul is at 5.45pm (GMT) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.