Welcome to hell? Two former reds discuss the Istanbul atmosphere awaiting Liverpool in the Champions League tonight

It’s known as one of Europe’s most intimidating environments to play football in, but will the atmosphere at RAMS Park, the home of Galatasaray, have an impact on Liverpool‘s performance when they lock horns in the Champions League this evening? Two former Reds in Dean Saunders and Glen Johnson discuss what awaits the Premier League champions.

For Arne Slot’s Liverpool team, the hostilities from Gala’s passionate fans would have been apparent as soon as the team landed in Istanbul and they will no doubt ramp up until kick-off tonight. A good nights sleep? Not very likely for after the Liverpool team hotel was bombarded with fireworks last night, but top level players are used to these shenanigans according to Glen Johnson.

It will be impossible to quiet the crowd down

Speaking to 10bet, former England right back Johnson, who made 160 appearances for Liverpool said: “Look. the lads will all have been there or somewhere else like that in their careers before. But they can’t control it, so all they need to worry about is what is in their control.

“You’ve got to play your normal game, and hope that a good start goes some way to silencing  the crowd. It might be borderline impossible to quiet them down, but it’s easier to do if you’re winning.

“If things go wrong and you concede early, then you only encourage the fans to get even nastier and noisier.”

Johnson, then shared his own experience of playing in Turkey for Liverpool and warned the Anfield giants to expect chaos.

“I played in Besiktas, and I think it was a pretty similar atmosphere. The game got stopped three times because of objects constantly getting chucked on the pitch.

“It got to the point where we had to go off, because there were so many lighters, toilet rolls and flares being thrown on the pitch every other minute. It’s carnage,” Johnson said.

Forget the atmosphere and play your usual game

Dean Saunders is one of the few former players to have represented both clubs. The Welsh icon lead the line for the Turkish giants for one season, scoring 15 goals in 27 appearances.

Speaking to BestBettingSites.com, Saunders urged Liverpool’s players to try and ignore the hostilities and just focus on football, saying: “Liverpool’s players have played in huge games before. They will know how to deal with pressure. At Galatasaray, I loved it there. It was a great club with unbelievable support.”

Saunders continued: “Arne Slot will be telling players to play their usual game, move the ball quickly, and quicker than your opponents, and we’ll have the brains to move to the right places. We have the strikers who can finish moves on, whatever the crowd does.

“It’ll be a tough night, but they just need to focus. Andy Robertson, for example, is going to have a chance to get in behind his opponent and he can make a goal for Hugo Ekitike. It’s the same across the pitch. Do the basics, fight, and you’ll be OK. A point in Istanbul is a good result, too, so there’s not too much pressure.”

Liverpool face Galatasaray at 8pm this evening.