Thursday, 29 September 2011

Europa League Preview

Athletic Bilbao meets Paris Saint-Germain in Group F while Sporting Lisbon host Lazio in Group D in the pick of Thursday's Europa League games.

PSG have enjoyed a strong start to the French Ligue 1 season, sitting second on the table following their 3-0 win over Montpellier on Saturday.

They enjoyed a 3-1 win over Austrian side Salzburg in their first Europa League match, and manager Antoine Kombouare will be hoping for more good form from striker Kevin Gameiro, who has five goals to his name so far this season.

They journey to an Athletic Bilbao side languishing second from the bottom of the La Liga table, with just two points from their opening five matches.

Group F's other match sees Salzburg host Slovakians Slovan Bratislava.

In Group D, Edy Reja's Lazio journey to Lisbon to take on Sporting, and the Italian side will be keen to bounce back after being held to a shock 2-2 draw in Rome by Romanians Vaslui in their first Europa League match.

Vaslui play host to FC Zurich in Piatra Neamt with both teams keen for their first win.

Ireland's Shamrock Rovers will play their first competitive match in England since 1957 when they meet Tottenham at White Hart Lane in Group A, while the group's other game pits Russians Rubin Kazan against Greek side PAOK.

Martin Jol's Fulham visit Denmark when they tackle Odense in Group K, while Polish champions Wisla Krakow travel to Enschede to face Dutch side Twente.

In Group E, Stoke host Turkish outfit Besiktas while Dynamo Kiev star Andriy Shevchenko will celebrate his 35th birthday when his side travel to Israel to meet Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Birmingham are in Slovenia to tackle Maribor in Group H, with 2010/11 runners-up Braga hosting Club Brugge in the group's other game.

Scottish club Celtic will have it all to do to register their first points of the tournament when they welcome Serie A heavyweights Udinese to Parkhead in Group I.

French club Rennes play host to Atletico Madrid in the group's other match.

German side Schalke meets Israelis Maccabi Haifa in Gelsenkirchen in Group J, while Steaua Bucharest travel to Cyprus to play AEK Larnaca.

Group L sees Belgium side Anderlecht in Moscow to play Lokomotiv, while Austrians Sturm Graz visit AEK Athens.

Swedish outfit Malmo play host to Austria Wien in Group G, and AZ Alkmaar face the tricky trip to Ukraine to tackle Metalist Kharkiv.

German team Hannover is also in Ukraine, to meet Vorskla in Group B, and Standard Liege welcome FC Copenhagen in the group's other match.

PSV Eindhoven are away to Romanian opposition in the shape of Rapid Bucuresti in Group C, and Israel's Hapoel Tel Aviv are in Poland to do battle with Legia Warsaw.

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