Liverpool, Juventus and big-spending Manchester City are three of the top-ranked teams hoping to avoid an early curtailment to their European ambitions in the Europa League today.
A welter of high-profile clubs from across the continent will compete in the first-leg matches of the tournament’s playoff round, all gunning for one of 37 slots in the group phase alongside defending champions Atletico Madrid.
Roy Hodgson was on the losing side in last year’s final after leading Fulham to a surprise appearance in the decider, but the experienced English coach has since jumped ship to Liverpool.
His new employers continue their assault on this season’s competition against Trabzonspor and Hodgson said he would select holding midfielder Javier Mascherano to face the Turkish side, despite his desire to leave the club.
“Of course I would play him on Thursday,” said Hodgson, whose side drew 1-1 at home to Arsenal in their Premier League opener on Sunday. “He is a Liverpool player and I hope he will continue to be a Liverpool player. For me, he will always be available for selection until the day comes when he’s no longer here.”
Liverpool and fellow giants Juventus had to come through the Europa League third-qualifying round after both sides finished seventh in their respective domestic leagues last term.
Juve saw off Irish side Shamrock Rovers to reach the playoff round and now face a meeting with Austria’s Sturm Graz.
“The draw turned out to be a tricky one for us,” said Juventus coach Luigi Delneri, who took over from Alberto Zaccheroni earlier in the summer. “We can’t underestimate the task; I will field the best possible 11. I don’t know how far we can go, but we don’t want to set ourselves a limit.”
Attention on City is likely to be intense, after they took their summer spending beyond £100 million (US$155 million) by completing the protracted signing of striker Mario Balotelli from Inter last week.
Balotelli could make his debut against Romania’s FC Timisoara at the City of Manchester Stadium.
Competition for places in Roberto Mancini’s starting 11 will be stronger than ever, but goalkeeper Shay Given believes their strength in depth will give them an edge in the Europa League.
“We have a strong squad, so I’d imagine we’re probably one of the favorites, but we’ve got to go out on the pitch and prove that,” the Irishman told the UEFA Web site. “The Europa League [means] there’s a lot of games and the squad will be needed for those games, but we’ve got a strong chance of doing very, very well.”
Michael Ballack could make his second competitive debut for Bayer Leverkusen when they host Tavriya Simferopol of the Ukraine, having rejoined his former club after leaving Chelsea at the end of last season.
Leverkusen’s compatriots Borussia Dortmund tackle Azerbaijani side Qarabag and Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp is delighted to be returning to continental competition after a season in the European wilderness.
“Maybe a club like Bayern Munich would not be too thrilled to take part in the Europa League, but for us this is pure happiness,” said Klopp, whose side finished fifth in the Bundesliga last season.
Other notable sides in action today include Napoli, Porto, Villarreal, Paris Saint-Germain, CSKA Moscow and PSV Eindhoven, with the second legs taking place on Tuesday and Thursday next week.
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Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
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