The Europa League returns for a fancied Liverpool side who will take on Turkish club Trabzonspor at Anfield on Thursday night. Roy Hodgson made an impressive Premier League debut on Sunday as the Reds nearly defeated a visiting Arsenal in the 1-1 draw. Were it not for
Pepe Reina's 90' goalkeeping blunder, Liverpool would have started the season with 3 points.
Trabzonspor enter the Europa League in the Playoff stage after gaining entry with a 3-0 win over Buraspor in the Turkish Cup final. The Black Sea Storm made several new signings this summer, including Brazilian striker
Jaja. They look to be off to a good start with last week's 2-0 away win over Ankaragucu in the Super Lig.
Europa League Playoff Round: Liverpool FC vs. Trabzonspor AS
Date: 19 August, 2010 - 20:45 CET
Venue: Anfield Road - Liverpool
Referee: Thomas Einwaller (Austria)
Liverpool:
Goalkeeper: Pepe Reina
Defenders: Glen Johnson, Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel
Midfielders: Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano, Dirk Kuyt, Joe Cole
Forwards: David N'Gog, Milan Jovanovic
Manager: Roy Hodgson
Injured: -
Booked: -
Trabzonspor:
Keeper: Onur Kivrak
Defenders: Arkadiusz Glowacki, Egemen Korkmaz, Hrvoje Cale, Serkan Balci
Midfielders: Burak Yilmaz, Alanzinho, Selcuk Inan, Gustavo Colman, Ceyhun Gulselam
Forwards: Teofilo Gutierrez
Manager: Senol Gunez
Injured: -
Booked: -
Hodgson will not want to face an uphill struggle on the return leg, so should be a bit more aggressive to attain an advantage before heading to Turkey. Weather conditions are mostly sunny and should be around 15 degrees with a 20% chance of rain. Austrian referee Thomas Einwaller will oversee the match.
Last meeting: 1976 European Champs Cup; Liverpool - Trabzonspor 3:1
Wins Liverpool: 2
Wins Trabzonspor: 0
Draws: 0
Liverpool will have gained in confidence after nearly defeating Arsenal with only 10 men on the pitch, but the Reds have not convinced me yet they can be consistent. Senol Gunez knows Liverpool will not have Fernando Torres at their disposal and will hope to shut the opposition down and take the match back to Trabzon. There is no value in betting on Liverpool in the 1x2 market, but betting Unders and Trabzon +1.75 could prove valuable.
Tip: Under -2.75 Goals and Trabzonspor +1.75
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