Group C: Levski Sofia vs Lille Preview

Posted Thursday, November 04, 2010 by ESPN

Levski Sofia birthday boy Hristo Yovov has called on his team's fans to roar them to victory in their encounter with Lille.

The forward will hope to celebrate his 33rd birthday with a win in the Europa League match which could play a major role in deciding the second qualifying position for the knockout stages.

Sporting Lisbon lead the group standings with a maximum nine points from their first three games, with Lille (four) and Levski (three) looking to take the upper hand in the race for second spot.

Aurelien Chedjou scored the only goal as Lille won the home fixture 1-0 a fortnight ago to edge ahead. Levski keeper Bozhidar Mitrev made a string of fine saves in that game, though Lille were left hanging on in the latter stages as Marian Ognyanov and Yordan Miliev went close.

And Yovov believes his team can build on home advantage to turn the tables in the return fixture.

"We will rely on an upbeat atmosphere," he said. "In any event, the atmosphere raises adrenaline and helps you forget fatigue and problems.

"We were pleasantly surprised to have such support from fans at our training session because Levski needs it."

They will be boosted by Lille's six-game winless run away from home in European competition, though Levski themselves had failed to win in four home group stage clashes prior to their win over Gent on matchday one.

But Yovov is aware of the test facing his team, particularly with Lille forwards Gervinho and Eden Hazard regaining their best form in recent weeks.

"The team of Lille is very classy, especially in attack with very good players and good flanking and central strikers," he said.

"If Lille play on the counter-attack it would be nice, because it would mean that we took the initiative and encouraged them to defend. Lille, however, are a proven team with a proven coach and players, but we have a huge advantage playing at home."

Yasen Petrov's side go into the match on the back of a disappointing performance in their 2-1 loss to Lokomotiv Plovdiv, but Yovov is keen to look forward.

"There was talk in the dressing room after the loss to Lokomotiv Plovdiv," he said. "Today we want to talk about Lille.

"The most important thing for the club is to win tomorrow and get out of this bad run. In the dressing room the mood is upbeat and we will try to have fun in tomorrow's match."