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Will Spurs´ Berbatov dampen Sevilla´s Easter celebrations?
SEVILLE (AFP) - Sevilla know that if they are to make progress towards their aim of retaining the UEFA Cup then they have to find a way of containing Tottenham Hotspur striker Dimitar Berbatov on Thursday.
The Bulgarian international has caused huge problems for opposition defences at home and abroad this season and the UEFA Cup quarter-final first leg offers a chance for the 26 year-old to add to his seven goals in the competition.
"My record in the UEFA Cup is good and hopefully I can continue that because we want to go all the way to the final," said Berbatov.
"It will be difficult in Spain on Thursday because Sevilla are a good team and play very good technical football but if we can take our chances then a goal or two out there will be very good for us.
"That will be difficult but I am an optimist and hope we can do that," added the 26-year-old, who has scored seven times in six UEFA Cup matches this term.
The man who should have the task of stopping Berbatov's shots is Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop, who is expected to start despite a mild leg strain which caused him to miss his club's 0-0 draw at Osasuna on Sunday.
Palop, by common consensus, has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Spanish first division this season.
"Last week, I thought I wasn't going to be fit in time and was unable to finish training sessions but I am now much improved, I don't have pain anymore in the affected area," said Palop on Tuesday.
"I watched their last match in the Premiership. They've got a great midfield and with a striker like Berbatov and a winger with the speed of (Aaron) Lennon, they are a good team that is going to be very difficult to beat," he added.
Palop is just one of three key Sevilla players who should be fit enough to play on Thursday but still not 100 percent healthy, a situation which just might tilt the advantage over two legs in the direction of the London side.
Impressive right back Daniel Alves, one of the stars of the 4-0 win over another Premiership side Middlesbrough in the 2006 UEFA Cup final, is suffering from a twisted ankle which he suffered playing for Brazil last week.
Fredi Kanoute, the Spanish first division's leading scorer, has also been battling a persistent groin problem in recent weeks and was kept on the bench until the final 15 minutes against Osasuna on Sunday in a bid to keep him fresh to face Spurs.
Spurs' coach Martin Jol, by contrast, faces a different problem.
"We had three big chances early on (against Reading) and in the second half we had lots of chances to finish them off. We should have got three or four goals," lamented Jol on Sunday about the lack of goals in Spurs' last match.
Against such a solid defence as Sevilla, Berbatov and company may not get as many opportunities to score and so will have to make the most of whatever comes their way.
UEFA's scheduling of the match during Seville's holy week has also been severely criticised here with local government officials having to employ extensive security measures for the match.
An additional 800 security staff - a mixture of 500 police and 300 private personnel - have been brought in to augment the city's already stretched resources that will deal with hundreds of thousands of Easter visitors.
With Tottenham having an official allocation of 3,500 tickets, the figures mean that the local authorities have opted for a highly visible presence in a bid to avoid any clashes between foreign football fans and local worshippers as well as revellers.
The holy week celebrations in Seville, both religious and secular, are among the biggest within a single city in Europe.
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