MX23RW : Tuesday, January 28 08:18:30| >> :60:663:663:

Which British sides are in Europa League action this week?

Which British sides are in Europa League action this week?
© Reuters
British clubs are back in Europa League action on Thursday.

British clubs return to Europa League action on Thursday after last week's opening round of group matches.

Arsenal host Dundalk, Tottenham go to Royal Antwerp and Leicester travel to AEK Athens while Rangers welcome Lech Poznan and Celtic head to Lille.

Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at the opposition clubs.

Coaches

Dundalk v KI Klaksvik – UEFA Europa League – Play-Off – Aviva Stadium
Dundalk manager Filippo Giovagnoli was appointed in August (Brian Lawless/PA)

Dundalk: Filippo Giovagnoli was only appointed in August after the Lilywhites parted company with Vinny Perth, following their Champions League exit against NK Celje.

Royal Antwerp: A former Croatia international, Ivan Leko guided the club to the Belgian cup last season and previously won the league with Club Brugge.

AEK Athens: Massimo Carrera is coming up to his one-year anniversary at AEK having previously managed Xanthi and Spartak Moscow.

Lech Poznan: A former centre-back who won one cap for Poland, Dariusz Zuraw has been at the club since April 2019, winning 27 of his 60 matches in charge.

Lille: Christophe Galtier has been with the club for three years since replacing Marcelo Bielsa and has won 55 of his 112 games.

European pedigree

Soccer – UEFA Europa League – Group A – Manchester City v Lech Poznan – City of Manchester Stadium
Poznan played Manchester City in the Europa League in 2010 (Martin Rickett/PA)

Dundalk: They made their European debut in the 1963–64 European Cup and their best performance came in 1979-80 when they reached the last 16.

Royal Antwerp: Antwerp were runners up in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1993 when they lost to Parma. They have only qualified for Europe twice since 1995.

AEK Athens: They were the first Greek team to compete in the group stage of the Champions League in 1994–95, reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup (1968–69) and UEFA Cup semi-finals in 1977.

Lech Poznan: The Polish side have pedigree in Europe having played in the Cup Winners' Cup and European Cup and regularly reach the Europa League but this is their first group stage for four years.

Lille: Lille qualified for Europe for the first time in the club's history in 2001-02, reaching the Champions League. They also finished bottom of Group H last season, twice losing to Chelsea.

Form

Lille v Chelsea – UEFA Champions League – Group H – Stade Pierre Mauroy
Lille are second in Ligue 1 this season (Joe Giddens/PA)

Dundalk: Third in the League of Ireland, they lost their opening Europa League game to Molde last week and were beaten 1-0 by Waterford at the weekend.

Antwerp: They have won their last five games in all competitions and top the Belgium First Division by a point.

AEK Athens: One win in the last four, which came in a 1-0 victory at Ioannina on Sunday.

Lech Poznan: They sit 11th in the Polish Ekstraklasa after two wins from seven and were beaten by Benfica last week.

Lille: Second in Ligue 1 and level on points with Paris St Germain, they are unbeaten in the league this term.

ID:420090: cacheID:420090:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7882:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp pictured on October 17, 2020
Read Next:
Jurgen Klopp refuses to rush injured players back
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool22165154213353
2Arsenal23138244212347
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2313553327644
4Manchester CityMan City23125647301741
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle23125641271441
6Chelsea23117545301540
7Bournemouth23117541261540
8Aston Villa2310763435-137
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2381053531434
10Fulham238963431333
11Brentford2394104240231
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd2385102832-429
13Crystal Palace236982630-427
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham2376102844-1627
15Tottenham HotspurSpurs2373134637924
16Everton225891928-923
17Leicester CityLeicester2345142549-2417
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2344153252-2016
19Ipswich TownIpswich2337132147-2616
20Southampton2313191653-376


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!