Sporting, Porto & Braga carry Portuguese hopes
Portugal have three represenatives in the knockout stage of the Europa League.
Sporting and FC Porto face German opponents in the shape of Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund respectively, while Braga play Swiss outfit Sion.
With the aid of experts on each club PortuGOAL profiles what the Portuguese trio can expect on Thursday.
Sporting vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Max Hendriks (twitter @Schnix04) is an avid follower of Bayer Leverkusen. Here is his lowdown on the Bundesliga team.
1. Bayer Leverkusen are currently in third place in the Bundesliga. How has their form been this season and especially recently?
Although Bayer 04 haven’t lost a single league game yet this year - including a draw against Bayern Munich - the team’s form is not up to its full potential. A loss against considerably weaker Bremen ruled them out of the German Cup, a competition of high importance for Bayer as it is the quickest way to a title. Injures of important players like captain Lars Bender and Charles Aranguiz have hit the club hard.
2. Ones to watch - Who are Bayer’s key players?
With Chicharito ruled out for probably both of the matches, I would put the spotlight on Kevin Kampl and Karim Bellarabi. Kampl is a very creative deep-lying playmaker, acting very versatile from the defensive midfield. He is the go-to guy for building up attacks for Bayer. Bellarabi is a pacy winger with a suprisingly high workrate in defence. He is very hard to seperate from the ball and can be a menace to any opposition.
3. Strong points/weak points – what must Sporting beware of and what can they exploit?
The central point of coach Roger Schmidt’s team is pressing, which is both a threat and a chance for Sporting. Bayer close down on the player with the ball very quickly and with numerous players. But with this playing style the team offers huge spaces on the other side of the pitch which can be exploited with accurate long passes.
4. Formation and playing style – what system do they usually play? Would you describe Bayer generically as an attacking or a defensive team?
Bayer 04 play a very attacking 4-2-2-2 system. All of the players are looking for chances to win the ball as early as possible, even far in the opposing half. The wingers are rather wide playmakers, the full-backs push up very high and tend to overlap quite often. Also, the centre-backs place themselves very far from their own goal. It’s quite a dangerous system that always seeks to be active, not reactive.
5. Mood in the camp – judging by player/coach quotes regarding this game, do you think Bayer come into the tie in a confident frame of mind?
The mood in the squad could be called mixed. The team was very upset about the loss against Bremen in the German Cup. Striker Stefan Kießling mentioned the huge pressure on the backs of the players in the competition and the inability to turn the match around. The game in Darmstadt last weekend however enabled the team to show character. A hard-fought comeback victory moved Bayer back to the desired Champions League spot. Coach Roger Schmidt has assured that the Europa League is a very important competition for Leverkusen and they’re hoping to go as far as they can.
6. What are the German press saying about the match? What was the reaction to landing Sporting in the draw?
The German media saw the draw as a very tough draw, especially considering Bayer was in the seeded pot for the draw.
7. What do you think the result of the match will be?
I think it will be a very close match. Sporting’s coach Jorge Jesus already knocked out Leverkusen in the Europa League in the season 2012/13. I think a lot will depend on how Bayer’s young team can cope with the pressure in an international competition. Last year’s match in the Champions League Round of Last 16 against Atletico Madrid could be a comparison. Bayer threw it away after a fantastic first leg at home and lost after penalties. The team plays at times too enthusiastically and has yet to prove the coolness in tense situations. I would go for a draw in the first leg.
Our thanks to Max Hendriks
Borussia Dortmund vs. FC Porto
Luca Gierl (twitter @luc_bvb) is a writer from the The Yellow Wall Borussia Dortmund website.
1. Borussia Dortmund are currently in 2nd in the Bundesliga, way ahead of 3rd place and only 8 points behind the mighty Bayern. How good are this Dortmund team, and what is their current form?
When on a roll Dortmund are one of the best teams around. Pep Guardiola even stated they are among the top five teams in Europe. With 53 goals in 21 Bundesliga games, Dortmund have one of the most productive offences among all European teams. They did, however, concede 24 goals in those games as well which underlines the risky style they’re playing.
Now the strange thing: the current form is almost totally contrary to the rest of the season. In the last few games, Dortmund struggled to create chances and even failed to score against Hertha BSC – it was the first goalless game this Bundesliga season for Thomas Tuchel’s side.
On the bright side, Dortmund have been able to keep a clean sheet in three consecutive Bundesliga matches. The logical conclusion would be that Tuchel deliberately sacrificed some of the offensive firepower to gain more stability, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. It’s simply a case of opponents slowly figuring out how to defend against Dortmund while not even really trying to score themselves. It’s going to be interesting to see how Borussia fare against a team that is capable of scoring as well.
2. Ones to watch - Who are Dortmund's star players?
The big names in this Dortmund side are almost equally divided among all parts of the team. Mats Hummels struggled for a long time this season but the centre-back has finally rediscovered top form and has been impressive throughout the last few weeks.
Ilkay Gündogan would probably be the name on most of the Dortmund’s supporters lips if you’d ask them for the most influential player in their side. The German international pulls the strings from the right of central midfield, and if he has a great game it’s going to be hard to stop Borussia.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan finally found his feet at Borussia Dortmund after some tough spells. Mkhitaryan has had a hand in 17 goals in 20 Bundesliga games he’s played in and his offensive genius is a big part of Borussia’s success.
Last but not least there’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Gabonese striker already has an astonishing 20 Bundesliga goals this season. Aubameyang doesn’t influence the team’s style as much as the other mentioned players, but when it comes to scoring there is no-one more dangerous in Borussia’s ranks.
3. Strong points/weak points – what must Porto beware of and what can they exploit?
As already mentioned Borussia’s biggest strong point is their offensive firepower but as a result they often leave a lot of room for the opponent to exploit. Dortmund’s quality in the middle of the pitch is extraordinary and allows them to produce a tidy combination game, while the offensive players are incredibly quick and shouldn’t be left in space. When attacking Dortmund often push their full-backs extremely far up the pitch which can lead to good counter attacking opportunities for the opponents down the wings.
4. Formation and playing style – what system do they usually play? Would you describe Dortmund generically as an attacking or a defensive team?
Dortmund’s usual formation can be described as a mix between a 4-1-4-1 and a 4-3-3. The full-backs position themselves very high in possession while the ‚wingers’ don’t really stay on the wing, preferring to occupy the number ten space or half-spaces. Dortmund then try to calmly advance the ball through the middle and overload particular spaces. If all that is successful they create breakthroughs through the wing or half-spaces and therefore good scoring opportunities. It’s fair to say that Dortmund are generally an attacking and possession minded team.
5. Mood in the camp – judging by player/coach quotes regarding this game, do you think Dortmund come into the tie in a confident frame of mind?
Tuchel said about the match that they’ll “be tested on the highest level” and that they “feel ready for it.” Ilkay Gündogan stated on Twitter that the Europa League is now “really” starting. The general consensus seems to be that it’ll be a very tough challenge but everyone is up for it.
6. What are the German press saying about the match? What was the reaction to landing Porto in the draw?
After the draw most of the German press were of the opinion that Dortmund had drawn one of their strongest possible opponents and that this tie seems more like a Champions League matchup than anything else.
7. What do you think the result of the match will be?
I think Dortmund will win their home leg 3-2 but lose by two goals away from home, so Porto will advance.
Our thanks to Luc Gierl
Sion vs. Braga
Craig runs the excellent SwissFootball twitter account. Here he and his colleague Mr. Oli (twitter @aulit_z) give us the lowdown on Sion.
1. Sion are currently in 6th place in the Swiss League. What is their current form?
The league table can be deceiving at the moment. Sion sit in sixth but are only five points from third so they definitely have got themselves in a decent position considering they will aim to qualify for Europe again this season.
Their form has still been patchy though. They have lost more than they’ve won (W7 D4 L8).They are the second lowest scoring team in the league with just 22 goals.
Sion entered the winter break with only two wins from their last ten games but returned last weekend with a 1-0 win over Zurich away from home. It’ll be interesting to see how they do in the second half of the season, depending on how their Europa run goes as that has taken a lot of their focus in the first half.
2. Ones to watch - Who are Sion’s key players?
The main player to watch out for is Moussa Konate. He is a Senegalese international and has been in great goalscoring form for Sion stretching into last season. He missed a fair number of games before the winter break but has returned and scored the winner in Zurich in Sion’s return game.
Elsewhere, Carlitos, Salatic, Kouassi and Fernandes all feature in a strong midfield.
In defence, Reto Ziegler is a key component. He featured in all of Sion’s group games and provides much experience having played for Fernerbahce and Sampdoria in the competition.
3. Strong points/weak points – what must Braga beware of and what can they exploit?
While they haven’t been scoring for fun lately in the league, Sion normally provide a strong attack. Konate in himself is a proven goalscorer now while Portuguese midfielder Carlitos (ex Benfica player) can be a real creative force for the team.
Sion’s ability to grind out results should be a warning to Braga. Sion won in Bordeaux and held Liverpool at Anfield. They also came from behind to beat Rubin Kazan and lost only one game, in Russia, to Kazan. They are not normally easy to beat.
The defence hasn’t let Sion down too badly in the Europa League this campaign but there is not much strength in depth in the side. It can be exploited and with pace in attack, where Braga can cause problems.
4. Formation and playing style – what system do they usually play? Would you describe Sion generically as an attacking or a defensive team?
Sion have switched it up quite often this year and have played everything from 4-2-3-1, 4-4-2, 4-1-4-1 and 4-3-3.
In the league, they generally play with a 4-2-3-1 formation while in the UEFA Europa League they switched between that formation and a 4-3-3, employing the latter in the away games vs. Liverpool and Bordeaux as well as the final game vs. Liverpool at home.
The 4-2-3-1 was used vs. Bordeaux at home and Rubin home and away.
Sion are an attacking team usually but their style of play has been different in the UEFA Europa League. They are considered weaker than teams like Liverpool and Bordeaux so have been more stubborn defensively and have been happy to pick up 1-0 wins or earn draws.
5. Mood in the camp – judging by player/coach quotes regarding this game, do you think Sion come into the tie in a confident frame of mind?
Sion started the second half of the season with a win. Their second match was postponed due to bad pitch conditions. This is something to look out for as Sion doesn’t have under soil heating. The pitch on Thursday will probably be in bad condition again. The current mood is certainly very good. The draw could’ve been much worse for Sion. The only Portuguese player in the Sion, Carlitos, said he’s excited to go back to his home country for the match.
6. What was the reaction to landing Braga in the draw?
In the same interview, Carlitos said that he thinks Braga is on the same level as Sion and if they play well, Sion could advance. This is the mindset of the club, going into this clash wth Braga. They avoided the bigger teams in the draw and they certainly believe they stand a chance.
7. What are the Swiss press saying about the match?
In general, the Swiss press thinks that Braga is the slight favourite in this match. I think the problem is that very few Swiss media outlets know the Braga team or the Portuguese league well enough outside Sporting, Benfica and FC Porto. This prevents the media from digging deeper into the match. There’s certainly a respect for the Portuguese side from the media, but they also think that Sion could advance with two good performances.
8. What do you think the result will be?
I can’t say I have watched Braga play this season although I’ve kept in touch with their results.
I think it will be the end of the road for Sion. They are only just returning from a winter break and I feel Braga are a better team.
Sion and the playing surface at the Tourbillon may benefit them in the first leg but I think Braga will do enough in the return leg to advance to the next round.
Our thanks to Craig and Mr. Oli.
