A depleted and depressed Liverpool side travel to Huseyin Avni Aker Stadium Thursday night to face Trabzonspor AS in the return leg of their Europa League play-off. The first meeting was not convincing enough for the Reds as Joe Cole missed a penalty, leaving his side with a mere 1-0 aggregate lead. Several key players did not make the trip to Turkey, which will only serve to further diminish spirits after their 3-0 loss to
Manchester City at the weekend.
A 3-2 defeat of Fenerbahce at the home ground last week has given coach Senol Gunes several things to think about. He will likely field a similar side that played Anfield, but striker Umut Bulut could force his way into the starting eleven after scoring against Fenerbahce.
Europa League qualifiers, Leg 2: Trabzonspor AS vs. Liverpool FC
Date: 26 August, 2010 - 19:30 CET
Venue: Huseyin Avni Aker Stadium - Trabzon
Referee: Ivan Bebek (Croatia)
Trabzonspor:
Goalkeeper: Kivrak
Defenders: Korkmaz, Gulselam, Glowacki, Cale
Midfielders: Yilmaz, Balci, Inan, Colman
Forwards: Bulut, Gutierrez
Manager: Senol Gunes
Injured: -
Booked: -
Liverpool:
Keeper: Reina
Defenders: Johnson, Skrtel, Aurelio, Carragher
Midfielders: Lucas, Poulsen, Cole, Kuyt
Forwards: N'Gog, Pacheco
Manager: Roy Hodgson
Injured: Gerrard, Torres, Agger, Mascherano, Rodriguez, Jovanovic
Booked: -
Temperature: 22°
Precipitation: 0%
Wind: 18 km/h
Humidity: 67%
Last meeting: 19.08.2010 Liverpool - Trabzonspor 1:0
Wins Liverpool: 1
Wins Trabzonspor: 0
Draws: 0
Liverpool had a tough game on Monday and will need a win here to get spirits back up. Despite several notable absences Liverpool have the quality to score on Trabzonspor. With the crowd behind them, I expect the home side to get a goal or two of their own. Neither manager will be playing timidly so I believe we will see several goals in this match.
Tip: Over +2.5 goals.
The best odds to this game you find at
Betfair,
Interwetten and
Bet365.
