Manchester United’s UEFA Youth League match against Galatasaray went ahead on Wednesday (Getty)
Manchester United’s Champions League match against Galatasaray is at risk of postponement due to heavy rain in Istanbul.
Erik ten Hag’s side sit bottom of Group A ahead of their penultimate game against the Turkish club but the match at Rams Park could be called off after Istanbul was hit with heavy downpours throughout Wednesday.
UEFA officials inspected the pitch conditions three hours before kick off but the ball was not bouncing freely due to the waterlogged surface.
United’s Under-19s lost to Galatasaray in their UEFA Youth League group game earlier on Wednesday as both sides struggled to play in the torrential conditions at the Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadium, which is located six miles south of Rams Park.
UEFA officials are continuing to monitor the pitch at Rams Park ahead of the game, which is due to kick off at 17:45 GMT.
However, weather forecasts indicated that the rain in Istanbul shows no signs of easing off this evening.
United’s matchday blog issued an update to fans on Wednesday afternoon which read: ‘The surface here at Rams Park has taken a lot of water on board throughout the course of the day as the rain has been relentless. There are floods appearing on the roads leading to the stadium and traffic carnage but the biggest worry, from here inside, is the state of the pitch.
‘The Under-19s game earlier, a short distance but long drive away due to the jams, could have been called off but UEFA will be making the required checks and inspections for this evening’s Group A clash, along with the match officials.
‘Testing conditions are likely to be taxing too if it gets the green light, but the pitch does seem to be the subject of some concern at this stage.’
Manchester United and Galatasaray’s struggled in the conditions during their UEFA Youth League match (Getty)
Istanbul has been hit with heavy downpours since the early hours of Wednesday mornin (Anadolu via Getty)
In 2013, Galatasaray’s Champions League game against Juventus was abandoned in the 32nd minute due to heavy snowfall.
The game, which kicked off on the Tuesday evening, was moved to midday on Wednesday.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.