Europa League Preview: Getafe - BSC Young Boys

Europa League Group Stage: Matchday 6
Thursday December 16, 21:05 CET
Coliseum Alfonso Pérez, Getafe

Getafe's paymasters can expect to see a record low crowd on Thursday night as the Azulones welcome Young Boys of Bern to Madrid for a meaningless Europa League encounter.

With just a few UEFA euros to play for neither side has anything at stake in this fixture. Young Boys have qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League in second place, while Getafe were eliminated by a late equaliser from OB Odense a fortnight ago.

Thus it'll be a cold occasion at the Coliseum, but one in which each coach may experiment a bit with his line-up.

Neither side is yet to name their squad but we know for sure that Jemal Ammar is suspended, while for Getafe left-back Mané suffers a similar fate. Meanwhile Javier Arizmendi and Mario are both out injured.

Europa League Group H @ 5 Games 1. Stuttgart (12pts) 2. Young Boys (9pts) 3. Getafe (4pts) 4. OB (4pts)

It is almost certain that influential players from each team will take a much-needed break, and from Getafe's perspective this could allow fringe men to shine. Adrián Sardinero, the reserve forward, has been knocking on the first team door for some time, while Pedro Mosquera, Ibrahim Kas and Pablo Pintos may yet earn the first team opportunities that they so crave.

Geta have won their last three league games and will for reasons of momentum look to take a positive result here, but at this point coach Míchel will know that Europe is not worth worrying about. The fans, long since irritated by expensive tickets, know this too, and thus Young Boys are unlikely to be too impressed by the atmosphere on Thursday night.

The Swiss are eight points off the top in their own domestic competition heading into their winter break: this will be their last competitive match until February and thus they have not the squad concerns that Getafe currently suffer. As such expect boss Vladimir Petkovic to select a strong line-up and seek to end 2010 on a high note.

Probable line-ups:

Getafe: Ustari; Pintos, Kas, Victor Sánchez, Miguel Torres; Pedro Ríos, Pedro Mosquera, Casquero, Gavilán; Albín, Sardinero.
Young Boys: Bürki; Sutter, Nef, Affolter, Spycher; T. Doubai, Hochstrasser; Degen, Costanzo, Lulic; Mayuka.