Europa League Preview - 21st
Oct 2010
It is entertainment over drive as after a dramatic match day 3 of UEFA Champions League, attention now turns to Europe’s second tier competition, Europa League.
A host of matches will be played tonight as European powerhouses look to move a step closer towards the next round of the Europa League.
The likes of Manchester City, Napoli, Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen will all be in action tonight and fireworks can be expected from almost every game.
It will be more than pride and reputation at stake as Napoli’s former defender, Andrea Dossena and Los Roji Blancos’ Tiago and Bernd Shuster all return to their former employers with their new teams as they look to prove a point to
their detractors.
Dossena will head to Italy with Liverpool FC to take on his former club, Naploi in a clash of two Titans while last year’s champions, Atletico and their new man, Tiago will take on Rosenborg at the Vincente Calderon to prove that their last year's triumph
was no fluke at all.
The former Real Madrid boss, Bernd Schuster will travel to Portugal to take on FC Porto to make sure of his side’s qualification from a tough group .
Liverpool are currently only two points better off than their opponents tonight, Napoli but the fixture in group K will be of extreme importance to Roy Hodgson and his club as they are seeking their first ever win under the new "New England Sports Ventures"
ownership.
Liverpool lost to Everton in the Premier League on the weekend and Hodgson is a man under intense pressure as his tenure as the manager of Liverpool is under serious threat.
Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard are both likely to play a part tonight at Anfield as Roy Hodgson tries to mend his reputation but the task tonight is not an easy one as Napoli are the form side in Italy.
Two sides that are boasting a 100% record in the competition are FC Porto and Besiktas but after tonight, only one will as they both come together for a mouth watering encounter in Portugal at the Dragon’s den in Lisbon.
Former Arsenal man, Oleg Luzhny is now the manager of Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine and tonight he will travel to the Netherlands to take on AZ Alkmar in another clash of mammoth proportions.
Another important clash will be between Hajduk Split and Zenit St Petersburg where after scoring 11 goals in 7 matches, Aleksander Kerzhakov will be looking to find the back of the net again. Kerzhakov produced a sublime hat trick on match day 1 and it will
only take a brave man to best against the man scoring again tonight.
Manchester City will also be looking to add to their previous wins as they welcome the Polish side, Lech Poznan at the City of Manchester Stadium tonight. Poznan are the polish champions but given the wide array of attacking talent at Mancini’s disposal,
they will be in for a tough time at Eastlands.
The full list of fixtures is as follows:
Group A
Manchester City vs Lech Poznan, Salzburg vs Juventus
Group B
Atletico Madrid vs Rosenborg, Aris Thessaloniki vs Bayer Leverkusen
Group C
Sporting vs Gent, Lille vs Levski
Group D
Villarreal vs PAOK, Dinamo Zagreb vs Club Brugge
Group E
FC Sheriff vs BATE, AZ Alkmaar vs Dynamo Kiev
Group F
Palermo vs CSKA Moskva, Sparta Prague vs Lausanne
Group G
Zenit St Petersburg vs Hajduk Split, Anderlecht vs AEK Athens
Group H
Young Boys vs OB, Stuttgart vs Getafe
Group I
Metalist vs Sampdoria, Debrecen vs PSV Eindhoven
Group J
Borussia Dortmund vs PSG, Karpaty vs Sevilla
Group K
FC Utrecht vs Steaua, Napoli vs Liverpool
Group L
CSKA Sofia vs Rapid Vienna, Besiktas vs Porto
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