UEFA Europa League: 3rd Qualifying Round Preview

We join the action in the UEFA Europa League for the 1st leg in the third qualifying round matches. This round would consist of 40 victorious teams from 2nd round and further 30 new teams joining the tournament. Teams like PSV Eindhoven, AS Roma, Hamburger SV, Fulham FC, Lille Metropoke and Club Brugge joins the mass for a two legged match played home and away. Only 35 teams will advance to the Play-Offs of the UEFA Europa League.

Valerenga Fotball vs. POAK FC : Evenly matched in Norway

Norwegian outfits Valerenga are 19 games into their season in Tippeligaen. They currently berth 7th place in the Tippeligaen with 7 wins, 4 draws and 7 defeats. Their home and away statistics do not differ much so inconsistency is Valerenga’s weakness. They played Odd Grenland in the weekend and lost 3-0 at home, which is recorded as one of worse results at home this season. American Goalkeeper Troy Perkins could set to return to Valerenga’s starting lineup and strengthen the team’s miserable goal conceding statistics.

POAK plays their football in the Greek Super League, they qualified to the UEFA Europa League by being runners up in the Greek Championship. Their season has not begun so POAK has played 3 training matches in order to get their fitness up. They toured Holland for their preseason and played Willem II Tilburg beating them 2-0 and they also faced Sparta Rotterdam where B. Carrillo scored the winning goal for the Greeks. One big signing of the season for POAK has been the arrival of 21 years old Vasilis Koutsianikoulis from Ergotelis FC to strengthens their attacking options.

Valerenga have the advantages of having the optimal match fitness on their belt. This will be POAK first official game of the season and it will be a tough one as they travel to Norway. They are a strong team but would they last that 90 minute which is required of them. Valerenga could exploit their weakness in the closing stage of the game where POAK players are bounded to get tired. Valerenga could do well in the first game but POAK has been winning in their away games.

Randers FC vs. Hamburger SV : Labbadia on the run

Both teams managed to qualify for the UEFA Europa League competition by literally grabbing the last available spot in their respective leagues. Hamburger SV are favorites to advance to the next round.

Randers FC played in the 2nd round of the UEFA Europa League and beat Lithuanian FK Suduva 2-1 on aggregate. Randers FC is led by former Arsenal player and currently Randers Coach, John Faxe Jensen and he could guide Randers to the next round. He will have to mastermind a strategy to beat the Germans in the 1st leg and hope to defend that lead in the 2nd leg. He has got some experienced players in his squad like Søren Berg, Carsten Fredgaard, Tobias Grahn and Marc Nygaard as all of them have played football outside of Denmark in their careers. They play a simple 4-4-2 system but a defensive formation is more likely to be better option on the day.

The departure of Martin Jol sees Hamburger SV in search for a new manager. Former top scorer of both Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, Bruno Labbadia has been pinched from Bayer Leverkusen to led Hamburger SV. He has brought in three new players into the squad, Marcus Berg, Ze Roberto and Eljero Elia. There will be a lot of expectation for Labbadia to deliver some exciting attacking football and to collect some trophies this year. Labbadia has already collected his first silverware as HSV beat Stuttgart 1-0 in the final of the T-Home Cup. HSV looks collectively ready for the season and this is demonstrated yet again beating the reigning Dutch league champions, AZ Alkmaar, 1-0 away.

Randers FC looks likely to struggle in this tie and HSV could be on cruise control when they start scoring. The Danish outfits will have to be organized and discipline while needing to defend and attack, that might be just too much for them against Hamburger SV. If the Germans don’t get too complacent then it should be in the bag.

FK Vetra vs. Fulham FC : Hodgson back in Europe

Fulham will be travelling to Lithuanian to play their first game European game in seven years. They will meet minnows, FK Vetra, who beat HJK Helsinki 3-2 on aggregate to advance to the 3rd round of the UEFA Europa League. Fulham is looking to impress their boss Roy Hodgson while Vetra hopes to an advantage to Craven Cottage the following week.

This is Vetra’s 5th season playing European football, they have played 3 seasons of UEFA intertoto cup football since 2004 while qualifying for the UEFA Cup last year and this year’s UEFA Europa League. They have never advanced further than 3rd round in any of the European competitions so it would be a milestone for them if they were to advance into the next round of the Europa League. They impressed against Helsinki in the 2nd leg of 2nd round trialing 1-0 after the 1st leg. They managed to pick up themselves after going behind 2-0 on aggregate after the 3 minute, they turned the game around scoring 2 goals in the first half and finished off the tie 3-1 in fashion 9 minutes from time. Vetra is currently 2nd in their league and have had a few games on the belt. They beat LKKA Teledema 4-1 in the league at the weekend. Last time a British club visited Vetra, they were defeated 6-0 on aggregate by Blackburn FC, this time the Lithuanian will be more prepared.

Fulham will be happy to return to the European scene after Roy Hodgson achieving the club’s best finish in the Premier league in 7th place last year. Hodgson has embroiled the team with discipline and character, which was one of the reasons why they did so well at Craven Cottage last season. The team was revolutionized by going back to basic, playing 4-4-2 formation with physical presents from the defense to the attackers. It is British football at its best and with a hint of Scandinavian flair at certain times. Fulham went to Australia for their preseason tour, playing 3 games, won 2 and lost one. The squad drew twice against Bournemouth (0-0) and Peterborough United (3-3) prior to the travel to Lithuanian. They have also strengthened the team by signing Norwegian midfielder Bjørn Helge Riise on a 3 year deal.

This could be a big task for Vetra to face. They did well against Helsinki but Fulham is in another level of calibrate. It is Fulham’s first official game of the season so we can expect a bit of slow pace from the start. However once they get their stride going, it is for certain that there will be no stopping for the Hodgson’s men to run wild against the Lithuanian.