Galatasaray have looked to prepare Victor Osimhen for Liverpool’s visit by playing the striker ‘through his pain’ in their narrow league victory.

The Champions League resumes in midweek and Liverpool travel to Istanbul to face Galatasaray for the first time since 2006, with fans facing unacceptable conditions at the Rams Park Stadium.

Arne Slot welcomed back several first-team players who were handed a rest on Tuesday at Crystal Palacebut they fell to their first defeat of the season.

Galatasaray, meanwhile, extended their 100 percent start to their Super Lig campaign on Friday with a 1-0 win over Alanyaspor, their record seventh victory in a row to start a season.

Mauro Icardi scored the decisive goal for Okan Buruk’s side in the 22nd minute with a well-timed back-heel from close range, with his movement catching Alanyaspor’s defence napping.

Galatasaray XI: Cakier; Singo, Sanchez, Bardakci (Jakobs 63′), Elmali; Sara (Gundogan 63′), Torreira (Lemina 46′); Sallaai, Sane (Baltac 77′), Yilmaz (Osimhen 85′); Icar

Subs not used: Guvenc, Ayhan, Kutlu, Kutucu, Akgun

Galatasaray, deploying a 4-2-3-1 formation, conceded 22 shots on goal, however, which will be encouraging to Liverpool, with Alanyaspor missing six big chances across the 90 minutes.

Buruk made four changes to his starting lineup, with Ilkay Gundogan a notable name to drop from the XI to the bench ahead of an expected start against Liverpool.

He started for the Turkish side in their first Champions League fixture, which saw Eintracht Frankfurt put them to the sword 5-1.

But it was the return of Osimhen, who only joined the club in the summer, that was the focus post-match, with the striker making his first appearance since sustaining an ankle injury during the last international break.

Galatasaray taking ‘risks’ with striker

The former Napoli man was introduced for the final five minutes, and his manager conceded the club wanted him to ‘play through the pain’ to give him a chance for a more involved role against Liverpool.

“We wanted to play Osimhen for 10 minutes,” Buruk told reporters. “We wanted him to experience the pain. Sometimes there’s pain, and playing through pain is important.

“We’ll assess his pain and physical condition before thinking about the next match.

“We may have changed our formation and had trouble covering the opposition. However, we’re taking these risks to ensure he plays.”

Osimhen is very unlikely to be a contender for Galatasaray’s starting lineup, unlike his counterpart Hugo Ekitike after he sat out of the weekend’s match due to suspension.

Osimhen has scored two goals in 214 minutes of club action this season, but Liverpool will prepare with Icardi in mind, who has five goals from seven appearances.