Europa League: Lech Poznan vs. Juventus Preview
It may be less the quality of football and more the weather which eventually decides the winner in this fixture, when Italian giants Juventus travel to Poland to take on champions Poznan. The temperature today is expected to go down to
around -18 degrees Celsius, and snow is expected. There have been reports that the pitch has been covered and the heating is turned on, but Janusz Rejewski, the stadium manager, said that the game could be prevented because of snowfall.
Lech Poznan boss Jose Maria Bakero was confident that his side could take on Juventus, he said, “I believe that my players are ready to play against Juventus. They know what is expected of them, and what their responsibilities
are on the field - this is something they have to accomplish successfully. Of course Juventus is a great club with a rich history; an opponent like that demands respect. To defeat them, we have to play and fantastic match, and we are ready”
Lech have not been too impressive in Ekstraklasa play, but have surprised everyone in the second tier European competition. Earlier this month, Lech defeated Manchester City 3-1 and will now qualify to the knockout stages of the Europa
League if they defeat or draw against Juventus. Jose Maria Bakero is expected to play a somewhat similar squad to the one that played over the weekend, though a few changes are expected.
Surprisingly, Juventus have been struggling in the European competition and could be eliminated tonight if they lose to the Polish side. In their first leg against Lech in Turin the Polish outfit was 2-0 up in the first half because of
goals from the inspirational Artjoms Rudnevs. Juventus took charge in the second half and scored three goals to give them a 3-2 lead, however, just before the final whistle, Rudnevs scored a third, to secure a hat trick for himself and a point for his side.
Both sides have injury problems, Lech will be without Joel Tshibamba, who suffered a broken nose in a car accident. Sergey Krivets and Artjoms Rudnevs picked up minor knocks but are expected to play tonight. Juventus on the other hand
will have an inexperienced back line, with the likes of Marco Motta and Zdenek Grygera out with injury. Nicola Legrottaglie, Paolo De Ceglie and Amauri are also expected to be rested for this fixture in midweek.
Squads
Lech Poznań
Keepers: Krzysztof Kotorowski, Jasmin Burić.
Defenders: Grzegorz Wojtkowiak, Marcin Kikut, Bartosz Bosacki, Manuel Arboleda, Marcin Kamiński, Ivan Djurdjević, Luis Henriquez, Seweryn Gancarczyk.
Midfielders: Dimitrije Injac, Mateusz Możdżeń, Sergey Krivets, Sławomir Peszko, Jacek Kiełb, Semir Stilić, Jakub Wilk.
Forwards: Artjoms Rudnevs.
Juventus
Keepers: Marco Costantino, Alex Manninger, Marco Storari.
Defenders: Leonardo Bonucci, Vincenzo Camilleri, Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea De Paola, Matteo Liviero, Armand Traore.
Midfielders: Marcel Buechel, Manuel Giandonato, Milos Krasić, Davide Lanzafame, Claudio Marchisio, Felipe Melo, Simone Pepe, Mohamed Sissoko.
Forwards: Alessandro Del Piero, Niccolo Giannetti, Vicenzo Iaquinta, Alberto Libertazzi.
Tags: