Filed under: Fulham, Europa League (UEFA), Football, Match Previews
EUROPA LEAGUE THIRD QUALIFYING ROUND, CRAVEN COTTAGE. KICK-OFF 1930 BSTDon't worry Fulham fans, the qualifying is almost over. Only 90 minutes stand between Martin Jol's men and the final hurdle before they get into the Europa League proper. Which of course is a long, drawn-out group stage.
Fulham's season is already five games old, after two victories over two legs in the previous two qualifying rounds and a goalless draw in Croatia last week. And if they beat their opponents tonight they will find themselves in a play-off round, which, predictably is over two legs.
The hallmark of the away leg against the lesser-known Split side was the doggedness of Fulham's opponents - and the lack of chances the visitors had to score a valuable away goal.
Split did well to close Fulham down, especially as the team have picked up where Mark Hughes left them, playing an attractive, open style. And one positive that they could have taken away from Croatia last week is they did not concede.
And with both home legs of the previous two qualifying rounds ending in emphatic wins on the night for Jol's team, they will have high hopes of joining Tottenham, Birmingham City and Celtic in the hat for the play-off draw on Friday.
MEN TO WATCH: Brede Hangeland v Ante Erceg. Hangeland is more often than not the coollest of customers in Fulham's back four, but Erceg came close to notching a shock lead for Split last week, as he botched a one-on-one opportunity. It is probably safe to say he won't get another chance at Craven Cottage.
FORM GUIDE: The stalemate in Croatia was the second goalless draw of Fulham's campaign, after NSK Runavik held them away - although Jol's men were 3-0 up by the time they travelled to the Faroe Islands.
ODDS: Fulham 1-5, Draw 5-1, RNK Split 14-1
FULHAM:
Striker Andy Johnson believes his side have the advantage despite the goalless first leg in Croatia. And he reckons the familiar surroundings of Craven Cottage, the well-tended pitch and the surprisingly enthusiastic fans - given the time of year - will send them into the play-off round.
Johnson has scored in each of Fulham's previous two home legs in Europa League qualifying and he is confident of keeping his run going. But more than his own form, he has been impressed with how well Fulham's defence has performed, especially given the club's truncated pre-season.
He said: "It's going to he hard for us to break them down, they'll probably do to us what we did to them in the first leg. It's a bit of chess game at the moment but the advantage is all ours now, we've been scoring a lot of goals at home and it would be good to continue that on Thursday.
"Now we have kept a clean sheet, we've always got a chance at our place. They're a good team, they work well as a unit with good rotation and I think we found it difficult to cope with - but those places are always difficult to go to.
"We're looking forward to the task ahead on Thursday and we're confident that we can get a result. It's a totally different kettle of fish at our place, with our fans behind us and with the surface we've got. It's a fortress and hopefully we'll be able to maintain that home form and progress to the next round."
STRATEGY: Jol has picked strong sides throughout the qualifying stages and will most probably continue on Thursday, especially as they need the win to go through. Expect wingers Damien Duff and Chris Baird to double up with the home defenders in order to counteract RNK's five-man defence.
INJURY UPDATE: Striker Bobby Zamora has been passed fit despite suffering a broken hand in the first leg. Steve Sidwell is suspended and Simon Davies (knee) remains sidelined. Clint Dempsey could make his first appearance of the season.
RNK SPLIT:
Coach Ivan Katalinic admitted last week's goalless draw was a "surprise result", but one which has given his side hope that they can win the second leg and closer to the group stage. He said: "I think my team can score at Craven Cottage because they now have belief."
The Croatian side will be without Bosnian forward Bojan Golubovic, who failed to get a visa in time for the trip.
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/08/03/fulham-rnk-split-europa-league-preview/
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