Preveiw: UEFA Cup Final

uefa cup final

Shakhtar and Werder will both be looking to become the 38th and final winners of the Uefa Cup at the end of a long European season.

Both clubs began their journey in the UEFA Champions League before joining the Uefa Cup at the last 32 stage.

Shakhtar

Shakhtar have impressed in beating Tottenham, CSKA Moscow, Marseille and Dynamo Kiev and they have also been in fine form domestically.

Brazilian playmaker Jadson is fit following injury and coach Mircea Lucescu will be able to name an almost full-strength side.

Suspended midfielder Tomas Hubschman is the only major absentee and Lucescu is likely to bring in Mariusz Lewandowski in his place.

Werder

Werder have endured a miserable Bundesliga campaign and will definitely finish in the bottom half of the table after losing 3-1 at home to bottom club Karlsruhe over the weekend.

Europe has proved a welcome distraction and they have advanced to the final by knocking out tournament favourites AC Milan, followed by St Etienne, Udinese and Hamburg.

Manager Thomas Schaaf will be without the banned Diego and Hugo Almeida and also has a number of injury concerns.

Key defender Per Mertesacker is out, while captain Frank Baumann, Claudio Pizarro and Markus Rosenberg are all doubtful.

Mesut Ozil will hope to provide the creativity in the absence of Diego, while Alexandros Tziolis is set to play on the left of midfield and Sebastian Prodl will partner Naldo at the back.

Posted on May 20, 2009 | Filed Under Football