Athletic Bilbao Vs Paris Saint-Germain – UEFA Europa League Preview
Stadio San Mames, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Spain-c3011 will see Athletico Bilbao host an in-form Paris Saint-Germain side in a UEFA Europa League group encounter on September 29, 2011.
Poor domestic form
Ahead of the game, Athletic Bilbao have not been in good form and will be tested to the limit against a strong Paris Saint-Germain that has gone through a major revamp in the summer transfer window.
Marco Bielsa’s side have made a slow start to the 2011/2012 La Liga campaign and have picked just two points from five games so far in the league. A draw against Villarreal at the weekend dropped Les Leones to 19th place in the league standings
and the pressure is on the team to deliver a good performance at home.
Defender http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Borja-c7886 Ekiza has asked his teammates to put behind a woeful string of results and concentrate on the task ahead when they face PSG.
In their last group game of Group F, Bilbao beat Slovan Bratislava 2-1 and the Basque side would be looking to make amends for a poor home record in Europe. Les Leones have not won at San Mames in their last three European games and the task becomes even
trickier with PSG as the next opponent.
Ekiza was full of praise for the French giants and said, “We face a beautiful game against a great rival and we will go all out to get a victory. We know it’s going to be difficult to because PSG have made important signings this summer but we will do our
best.”
Squad rotation
Paris Saint-Germain visit the Basque country on the back of a good winning sequence. Les Parisiens have not lost a single game since their opening day defeat at the hands of Lorient in Ligue 1 and coach Antoine Kombouare is keen on adding to the win tally.
With the Parisians looking to compete for top honours both in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899 and in Europe, Kombouare will have to keep on rotating his squad frequently. However, the Kanak coach has the luxury of rotating his squad while keeping the strength of his team intact
at the same time.
Furthermore, Kombouare would be looking to rest a few players as two days later, his side will host http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Kevin-Gameiro-c20721 have not been taken to the trip to Spain while the much-anticipated
start of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Momo-c26769 Sissoko might be on the horizon after the Malian passed a fitness test.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Javier-Pastore-c18082 has been pulling the strings in the midfield for PSG since his arrival but Kombouare will make a late decision of adding the Argentine to his squad. The 22-year-old has been playing regularly for PSG and might be rested so that he does not
risk injuring himself due to fatigue.
Team News
Bilbao
Athletic Bilbao will be without the services of 22-year-old striker Igor Martinez who fractured his shin bone two weeks back. Apart from that, Bielsa has a fully-fit squad to choose from.
PSG
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Guillaume-Hoarau-c15332 and Milan Bisevac are the only players who will miss the game at San Mames.
Probable starting XI
Bilbao: Iraizoz; Gurpegi, Ekiza, Amorebieta, De http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Martinez-c24468; Susaeta, Muniain, Gabilondo; Llorente
Paris Saint-Germain: Douchez; Jallet (or Ceara), Lugano, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Camara-c8277, Armand; Chantôme, Sissoko; Bahebeck (or Jallet), Bodmer (or Pastore), Nene; Erding
Predictions
With PSG in great form at the moment, it seems that Bilbao will have to wait a little while longer to record their first home win in Europe since three outings.
Predicted final score: Bilbao1-2 PSG
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