“Obviously it’s always good to know the opponent. We shouldn’t face any big surprises,” Alonso stated on Wednesday morning. “But it won’t be at all easy. So much is clear.” Speaking about the strengths of Qarabag, who are the first team from Azerbaijan to reach the last 16 of a European competition, the Spaniard said: “They have a lot of confidence, not least thanks to their big lead in their league [23 points above second place].” Andrich added: “Things are different from the group stage. They’ve got good players in attack, lots of lively players.”
While the Werkself bypassed the play-off round as group winners, Qarabag had to get past Braga of Portugal, prevailing 6-5 on aggregate after extra-time. “They played in their typical way in both games and were especially dangerous on the counter,” Alonso explained. The hosts are without the suspended duo of Julio Romao and Elvin Jafarguliyev for the first leg.
Kovar to start, Palacios “top fit”
Looking at his own squad, Alonso has almost everybody available. Only Victor Boniface and Arthur, who returned to training with the team yesterday, are not able to play. Exequiel Palacios was described by the coach as being “top fit” and could start following his return from injury, but Alonso refused to state yet whether that would be the case. He did, though, confirm that Matej Kovar would be in goal for both legs against Qarabag, while Lukas Hradecky will play against Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
