Europa Liga: Tough assignments for Portuguese trio

Europa Liga: Tough assignments for Portuguese trio

Three tough games await Portugal’s trio of Europa League representatives on Thursday.

Belenenses welcome Italian side Fiorentina, whose Portuguese coach Paulo Sousa has led them to the top of Serie A. In another mouth-watering clash, Sporting travel to Turkish capital Istanbul to take on Ricardo Quaresma’s high-flying Besiktas.

Braga, clicking into gear nicely under new coach Paulo Fonseca, look to build on their excellent start to the competition as they host Dutch side Groningen. PortuGOAL runs the rule over Portuguese teams’ adversaries.

 

FourFourTwo writer Greg Lea is a football journalist who focuses his work on Italy’s Serie A. We asked him for the lowdown on Fiorentina and for an assessment on Paulo Sousa’s work. Our thanks to Greg, who you can follow on Twitter @GregLeaFootball

1. Current form. How have Fiorentina started the season? 

Very well indeed. Fiorentina have won five of their opening six Serie A matches and sit top of the table after a brilliant 4-1 win over Inter at San Siro at the weekend. They’re unlikely to mount a sustained challenge for the title, but Fiorentina will be hopeful of securing a top three finish and a return to the Champions League this term.

 

2. Ones to watch - Who are Fiorentina’s star players?

Borja Valero has been a vital component of this Fiorentina side for three years now, the Spaniard setting the tempo of his team’s play in the middle of the park. He has been pushed slightly further forward under Sousa, with Valero and Josip Ilicic fielded behind striker Niko Kalinic, who netted a hat-trick at the weekend. Matias Vecino, Milan Badelj and Marcos Alonso have also impressed so far this season.

 

3. Strong points/weak points – what must Belenenses beware of and what can they exploit?

Fiorentina are a fine technical side who are able to string some terrific passing moves together. They have averaged 58 percent possession in Serie A, the highest in the division, so Belenenses will have to be wary of being overrun in the middle of the park.

They may have only conceded four goals in the league so far, but question marks remain about how robust this Fiorentina defensive unit is. Centre-back Stefan Savic, who departed for Atletico Madrid in the summer, is a big loss, while there is also often space to exploit in behind the two wing-backs.

 

4. Formation and playing style – what system do Fiorentina usually play? Would you describe them generically as an attacking or a defensive team?

Under Vincenzo Montella, Fiorentina developed a reputation as one of the most attractive sides in Italy. Sousa has retained that element of their play while also encouraging his players to get the ball forward quicker than they did under his more possession-oriented predecessor. La Viola line up in an interesting 3-4-2-1 formation, with the emphasis generally on attacking rather than defending.

 

5. What are the expectations of the club and the fans as regards the Europa League as a whole?

Fiorentina took the competition very seriously last year, reaching the last four before losing to eventual winners Sevilla. They’ll want to go one better this term, although Serie A will probably be their priority. 

 

6. There were some protests among Fiorentina fans when Paulo Sousa was appointed the coach. How is he viewed now? 

Sousa spent two years at Juventus – Fiorentina’s hated rivals – as a player, so his appointment did not go down well among many of the club’s supporters. Football is a results business, though, and nobody will be talking about his playing days if his Fiorentina team continue to deliver on the pitch.

 

7. What do you think the result of the match will be?

Without having seen Belenenses play, they’ll probably find things difficult against confident, in-form opponents. Fiorentina lost to Basel last time out, so I expect them to get their Europa League campaign kick-started with a victory this Thursday.

 

 


 Team-by-team analysis of Sporting’s Europa League Group H


 

 

So what can Braga expect from Dutch side Groningen? PortuGOAL asked Michiel Jongsma, co-editor of BeNeFoot.net. Our thanks to Michiel, who you can follow on Twitter @JongsmaJongsma.

1. Current form. How have Groningen started the season?

It’s been a bit of a strange season so far. In the Dutch Super Cup PSV proved too strong, winning 3-0, but all in all Groningen could take heart from the performance. In the league, the Groningers have picked up 10 points from 7, all coming in their four home games. In away games, they have looked tame though and failed to pick up a point, losing 2-0 to PSV, FC Utrecht and Ajax. They haven’t scored outside of the Euroborg so far this season and are yet to play a good game away from home. However, this is partly down to the team still needing to gel.

After winning the Cup in May (PEC Zwolle was defeated 2-0), the Trots van het Noorden have lost three key players in playmaker Tjaronn Chery (QPR), holding midfielder and captain Maikel Kieftenbeld (Birmingham City) and central defender Botteghin (Feyenoord). Compared to last season, the starting line-up looks different in about four positions. With Tamata (PSV), Maduro (PAOK), Linssen (Heracles Almelo) and the re-instated Danny Hoesen (mostly a benchwarmer last season), a lot of new blood has been added.

 

2. Ones to watch - Who are Groningen’s star players?

The main man at Groningen is probably Swedish midfielder Simon Tibbling. The 21-year-old has been at the club since January and has made an incredible impact. The Euro U21 winner is a tidy midfielder who is really intelligent on the ball, a good dribbler and blessed with great vision. He’s a darling of the crowd and in the Netherlands he’s regarded as one of the more talented midfielders.

Others that stand out are Hedwiges Maduro, who came from PAOK and has 18 caps to his name. He forms the midfield unit with Tibbling and is still only 30. In attack, Michael de Leeuw (at 10 currently) stands out as a goalscorer, while Bryan Linssen seems to be settling in well as a winger, mainly from the right flank. In right back Hans Hateboer and midfielder/winger Albert Rúsnak Groningen possess two other 21-year-olds who could go on to make fine careers for themselves.

 

3. Strong points/weak points – what must Braga beware of and what can they exploit?

FC Groningen’s right flank is particularly strong, with the aforementioned Hateboer and Linssen. Hateboer loves to charge up field and is an unusually tall and strong right back. Bryan Linssen is a player with good pace, a good right foot and an eye for a goal. Simon Tibbling likes to move forward a lot as well and is a good dribbler. He can put the defensive midfielders of Braga under a lot of pressure that way. In general, the team has quite a few players that are capable of getting guys like Linssen behind the defence of the opponent by floating in deep crosses.

The main weakness is probably the lack of pace in the midfield and centre of defence. Furthermore, left winger Albert Rúsnak has the tendency to cut inside a lot, leaving the flank open for the right-back of Braga to come forward, something Baiano likes to do if I am not mistaken. A lack of height is another issue for the Groningers, although so far they have been good in masking that when defending set pieces.

 

4. Formation and playing style – what system do Groningen usually play? Would you describe them generically as an attacking or a defensive team?

FC Groningen are playing a 4-2-3-1 and are very keen in possession. The build-up is often a bit slow. The team prefers to attack from the flanks.

 

5. What are the expectations of the club and the fans as regards this Europa League Group F?

The draw brought perspective, with Braga and Liberec two opponents that Groningen will feel they can beat. Even ahead of the game against Marseille, there was a slight sense of optimism. That optimism was broken down thoroughly by L’OM and now there is a real sense that the game against Braga should throw up a result for Groningen in order of them having a chance.

Groningen have chosen to invest in deeper squad so that they can handle the rigours of Europa League football. From that, the manager Erwin van de Looi decided to give several players rest in the Cup game last Wednesday vs FC Twente (2-1 win) and others in the away game against Ajax in the league on Saturday (2-0 loss). FC Groningen really have a focus on this game.

 

6. What do you think the result of the match will be?

Having seen Braga a few times this season, I think FC Groningen should be able to give Braga a game and if the away form wasn’t as dreadful as it is I would be cautiously optimistic. It will be a great test of character for a fairly young team. If everybody is focused, a draw should be a possibility for the Dutch team.

 

Fixtures:

Belenenses v Fiorentina, 6.00 pm (Portuguese time)

Besiktas v Sporting, 6.00 pm

Braga v Groningen, 8.05 pm