PREVIEW: EUROPA LEAGUE ACTION David Smith - Thursday, November 5, 2009
Clint Dempsey and Fulham will look to ride their unbeaten streak into a result in Rome while Tim Howard and the Toffees are looking for a bit of revenge when Benfica come to Goodison Park.
AS Roma - Fulham FC
Clint Dempsey and Fulham look to take a further step towards the knockout stage when they pay a visit to AS Roma's Stadio Olimpico on Thursday night.
After giving up a last-gasp equalizer to Roma two weeks before in London, the Cottagers find their Europa League campaign on the edge of a knife, holding a one-point advantage on second place in Group E.
Roy Hodgson's men had led since midway through the first half, however a late red card from defender Stephen Kelly and 90th-minute strike from Marco Andreolli left them to settle with only one point and in a precarious position halfway through the group stage.
With the Giallorossi trailing by only one point in third place, a loss in Rome would see Dempsey and his teammates drop into third, however as group leaders Basel sit only one point above, they will be gunning for the win and a shot at the pole position.
Their recent six-game unbeaten run including the weekend's shocking 3-1 victory over Liverpool would seem to have momentum squarely on their side as Roma themselves have struggled as of late with only one win in their last five and are uncharacteristically languishing in 14th place on the domestic front.
The Cottagers head to Rome without three of their most vital weapons, with Andrew Johnson out with a shoulder injury, Danny Murphy still sidelined with a knee problem and Damien Duff out due to an Achilles injury.
Additionally, Kelly must sit due to his red card in the previous outing, backup keeper David Stockdale is out with a knee injury, Toni Kallio with Achilles Tendinopathy and Kagisho Dikgacoi is not eligible for the competition.
Midfielder Dickson Etuhu could return for Hodgson after missing time with a knee injury.
Roma skipper Claudio Ranieri continues to be without team captain Francesco Totti due to a long-term knee injury, but otherwise fields a strong squad for the important home game.
Everton - SL Benfica
Tim Howard and Everton will be looking to break their six-game streak without a win, and hope for a measure of revenge when they host group leaders Benfica.
The Toffees were dealt a rude awakening in their first game against Benfica in Lisbon, being humiliated to the tune of a 5-0 dismantling.
Matters have hardly gotten better in the two weeks since, as they were also knocked out of the Carling Cup and have only managed to take a single point in their two Premier league contests to extend their winless run over all competitions to a troubling six games.
Despite their poor performances, David Moyes sees his men in a position to put themselves in prime position for a knockout berth on Thursday night, as a win would give them a three-point lead of Group I with only a pair of games remaining.
They must first deal with a Benfica team which has been relatively strong over the last two months, having only lost their first league game over the weekend to Liga Sagres leaders Braga.
Moyes is slowly seeing his extensive injury list shortening, however is still forced to field a highly weakened squad for the encounter.
Phil Neville, James Vaughan, Victor Anichebe, Phil Jagielka and Mikel Arteta are still out with knee injuries, while Louis Saha is questionable due to a nagging calf straight and both John Heitinga and Lucas Neill are both ineligible for the game.
In addition, midfielders Leon Osman and Steven Pienaar are both unavailable for the game due to injury.
Benfica will be without defender Cesar Peixoto and midfielder Carlos Martins, who are both recovering from injury.
Notes
Jared Jeffrey will likely not feature for Club Brugge as they travel to Serbia to face Partizan Belgrade.
Dominic Cervi was an emergency addition to Celtic's squad due to the absence of first-choice keeper Artur Boruc, and will watch from the bench as they try to find a way out of the cellar on their trip to Hamburg.
Bryan Arguez will play no part when group D basement case Hertha visit SC Heerenveen.
Currently visting YA: 304 
See these related articles
