Europa League – Previews: Borussia Dortmund take on PSG while Liverpool travel to Napoli
Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City, Liverpool and Stuttgart are all poised to restart their European adventures on Thursday, 21st of October 2010. It has been an eventful journey so far in the UEFA Europa League, a competition
which is yet to cement its place as a top tournament in terms of club football. Europa league’s inaugural edition was held last season as Atletico Madrid won the trophy after defeating Fulham F.C in the final match of the tournament.
This season UEFA have added a little spice to the tournament by marketing it in a much more spectacular way. German league’s representatives Dortmund take on Paris Saint Germain. In their domestic league also known as the Bundesliga,
Borussia are on fire as they are currently at the top of the table.
However, all has not been well at the German club as their fans have been participating in frequent boycotts and protests that are aimed at the club’s debt ridden financial situation. Nonetheless, these voices of discontent are
not affecting Dortmund’s on-the-field displays as far as the German league is concerned.
It is already safe to say that Dortmund’s main priority this season isn’t the Europa League as their manager Jürgen Klopp has already fielded a weak team twice in their two matches so far in European competitions. Not only that,
the club has set its eyes on finishing within the top three teams of the Bundesliga table come May of 2011.
Whether that is achievable or not is a debate for another time but Dortmund must give a good account of themselves if they are conquer Paris Saint Germain. PSG who hail from French football’s Ligue 1 are Dortmund’s opponents for
their third match in the Europa league group stages.
The match between Dortmund and PSG is expected to be a staunchly contested one but that doesn’t mean that PSG will come out and play all out for a win. The French club side is well aware of its defensive frailties and thus it is
quite probable that their game plan will be aimed at obtaining a draw in Germany rather than bombing forwards in attack for all three points.
Pragmatism will be the name of the game against a second string Dortmund side for the French club side which has fallen from grace over the last decade after they parted ways in early 2000s with the Brazilian midfielder, Ronaldinho.
PSG’s form in Europa league of late has been satisfactory. On their travels they have been masters of a miserly defence, an attribute which is a precious one to have in European football.
Liverpool and Napoli are also scheduled to play against each other on Thursday in what is expected to be a tough encounter for both the sides. Liverpool’s decline has been well documented this season, the Reds have had all sorts
of trouble as the club’s name has been dragged through courtrooms and right now Liverpool rest near the bottom of the English Premier League table.
Moreover, their transfer dealings in the summer have been a cause for concern for the club’s fans already as none of the new arrivals at Anfield have impressed thus far. Roy Hodgson’s job is already under threat and it is being
reported that maybe Kenny Dalglish will take over the former Fulham manager if the results continue to go towards the negative.
On the other hand, Napoli have done significantly well this season in the Serie A. A team which formerly had the services of Diego Maradona as their player in his hay day but right now they are short on super stars.
That doesn’t mean that their team is not up to the mark as the Italian club has proven thus far that it is more than capable of besting a Liverpool side which is will be playing at Napoli’s home stadium. Experts have firmly got
Napoli as the favourites to win this encounter despite the fact that Liverpool and their manager have a fantastic history in European tournaments.
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