Dundee United Hold No Fear of Europa League Opponents
Dundee United manager Peter Houston has revealed his side have no fear of their UEFA Europa League opponents after being drawn against Greek outfit AEK Athens in the playoff stage.
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) outfit earned their place in the European competition after winning the Scottish Cup last season, and their boss is happy to be playing the first leg of the tie at Tannadice after being fortunate to avoid playing Italian giants Juventus. He told the BBC that: "First and foremost, we were never going to get an easy tie when we saw who was in our pot. We're delighted to be starting the tie at home. It's not going to be easy."
The Tangerines still face a tough task to conquer AEK, who finished fourth in their league last season, 17 points behind champions Panathinaikos. The Greek side recently took on Scottish opposition in the form of Rangers in a pre-season friendly in Sydney. AEK defeated the SPL champions 1-0 in that game.
70,000-capacity cauldron
Houston’s side will have to tackle AEK in the cauldron of the 70,000-capacity Olympic Stadium. Despite saying that the atmosphere in Greece will likely be “intimidating," the manager will have his players fully prepared for the match. He said: "At Tannadice we fear no-one and we'd like to be going over to Athens with something to hold on to. We are under no illusions. It's not going to be an easy tie. We know their fans will be intimidating but I have loads of confidence. We have some lads in the squad who have no fear - players like Prince Buaben, Morgaro Gomis, Danny Swanson and David Goodwillie fear no one."
If United are to progress, they will have to place the shackles on Argentinean striker Ismael Blanco. The 26-year-old striker has been his club’s top goalscorer for the last two seasons after firing in 53 goals in 85 domestic games for AEK.
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