FC Groningen vs. ADO Den Haag – Dutch Eredivisie Europa League play-off preview
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/ADO-Den-Haag-c38221 in the return leg of UEFA Europa League play-off at Euroborg Stadion on Sunday, may 29. ADO won the first-leg 5-1 at Kyocera Stadion on Thursday, May 26.
FC Groningen
The Pride of the North fans would be hoping for a miracle in the return leg to see their beloved side play in Europe’s secondary club competition next season. It seems unlikely that the Green-White-Army would overturn a four-goal deficit in front of their
home crowd.
After performing impressively throughout the season, Pieter Huistra, Pride of the North manager, was far from pleased with his side’s performances in the Europa League play-offs but his side eventually managed to progress through to the final round of the
play-offs on away goals. Groningen’s duel with SC http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Heracles-Almelo-c39520 ended in a 3-3 aggregate score.
Huistra would be hoping that his side performs impressively at home to overturn the four-goal deficit. The tactician, however, knows that his side has to come up with an otherworldly performance to overturn the odds.
ADO Den Haag
ADO would be brimming with confidence after the emphatic first leg win. With one foot already in the Europa League, they would be confident to play European football next season.
John van den Brom, ADO manager, has achieved wonders by guiding his side to a seventh place finish in the league table. After finishing 15th in the league table last term, expectations were not high in The Hague. Brom, however, proved his worth
in his debut season at Kyocera Stadion.
ADO progressed to the final round of play-offs easily by emerging victorious in the two-legged encounter against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roda-JC-c40375 Kerkrade 6-3 aggregate.
Brom would be hoping that his side ends the 2010/11 season with a win away from their home turf and play in the Europe’s secondary club competition next season deservingly.
Players to watch
Dusan Tadic – FC Groningen
The 22-year-old winger will be the key player for the home side as his exceptional playmaking http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Skills-c40539 are always a threat to the opposition. The Serbian International has been criticised for his inability to score goals, but his bagful of assists overshadows
the dearth of goals. He could be the man to turn around the tide for Pride of the North with his playmaking.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jens-Toornstra-c18300 – ADO Den Haag
The 22-year-old central midfielder would be the key player for the visitors. He scored a hat-trick in the first-leg and would be hoping to score a goal or two in the return leg as well. With his impressive dribbling and eagerness to move forward, he would
surely pressurise the home side’s back-line throughout the 90 minutes.
Head-to-Head statistics
ADO have emerged victorious in only one of their last five encounters against FC Groningen and that was in the first-leg of Europa League play-offs. Pride of the North have won three of their last five encounters against ADO while the remaining game ended
in a stalemate.
Prediction
The home side would be looking to overturn the four-goal deficit and will play aggressive football. Should ADO counter-attack effectively, they can surely manage yet another victory. Furthermore, their impressive performance in the first-leg suggests another
victory in the pipeline. It will be a 2-3 win in favour of the visitors.
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