Europa League Preview: Stoke City Closer to Realising European Dream
Stoke City have shown an incredible turn of fortunes in the last few years by making into a European competition after being in the Championship only few seasons ago. Now, they have the opportunity to enter into the group stages of the Europa League provided they get past Swiss club Thun.
Many doubted Stoke's ability to get a result away from home, but they clearly showed that they have the firepower to deal with such situations in the match against Hajduk Split. One of the main things that led them into the current position was their ability to keep clean sheets against Hajduk Split.
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Tony Pulis will in no doubt be looking for nothing more than that, but since this is an away fixture, he is likely to make a few amendments to the strategy. An away goal will certainly suit the English club, which is clearly a reason for Thun to make themselves organised in defence.
Even though Thun have just one victory out of their last five matches, they will at least be confident having avoided defeat in those matches. Tony Pulis is likely to make a last-minute decision over the participation of Jonathan Woodgate.
Martin Jol has already seen his Fulham side play six matches in the Europa League, but that is unlikely to prevent him from naming an under strength side for the match against Dnipro. Fulham's hard work in the previous six matches will be rewarded only if they make it into the group stages of the Europa League.
They have the perfect chance to do so against a Dnipro side that is struggling for form at the moment. However, they have been undefeated in the last five away matches, which could be important in the context of the tie as a whole.
Fulham will look forward to great performances from Bobby Zamora and Andy Johnson, as it could make their task that little bit easier when they take on Dnipro in the second leg at Ukraine. As Fulham do not play well in away matches as well as they do at home, Martin Jol will be looking for a sizeable advantage to protect in the second leg.
Fulham drew their most recent match against Aston Villa, but that is unlikely to play in their minds given the importance of this match.
Tottenham will be playing their first competitive match of the season against Heart of Midlothian looking to qualify for the group stages of the Europa League. Tottenham should have played against Everton during the weekend, but it was postponed due to riots in London.
It should hand a significant advantage to Heart of Midlothian, who are already up and running the Scottish League. However, Harry Redknapp has every reason to be confident of getting a result away from home given that the Scottish club has not been in the best of forms.
They could not win in the first three matches of the season, but they have just recorded a victory against Aberdeen last weekend.
However, their home form is decent enough to ensure that they at least put up a fight against Tottenham, who are the clear favourites to qualify. Tottenham will also have one eye on the weekend's fixture against Manchester United. There is every chance that Harry Redknapp could field an under strength side, especially given the way he has been criticising the Europa League for the presence of too many games.
Rangers will be hoping that the Europa League will be the salvation for them this season, as they will be without the opportunity of playing in the Champions League for the second consecutive season.
Only Slovenian team Maribor stands between them and the group stages of the Europa League, which will ensure the revenue keeps ticking over.
Rangers and Maribor will meet each other after a gap of 10 years.
Maribor will be looking for nothing more than revenge after they were beaten quite heavily by the Scottish team on that occasion. Maribor managed to score only one goal over the two legs and any repeat of such poor performance will surely have them eliminated from this year's Europa League.
This is because Rangers have been enjoying a good start to their domestic season. They have so far played three matches in the Scottish Premier League, with Ally McCoist's men managing two victories and a draw.
Maribor also have been good in recent weeks, with the club undefeated in the last four matches. Rangers could be handing a debut for USA captain Carlos Bocanegra, who is close to signing for the Scottish team. Matt Mackay will be unavailable for selection for both legs.
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