Stephen Kenny will lead his heroic Dundalk side into arguably their most difficult challenge tonight when the Irish champions will face Zenit St Petersburg in the Europa League.
Having
drawn 1-1 in Alkmaar in their opening Europa League group game, before beating
Maccabi Tel-Aviv 1-0 in Tallaght last time out, three points tonight could be
crucial if Dundalk are to continue their European adventure.
Zenit
travel to Tallaght tonight having not lost a competitive game all season and
boast a host of International stars such as Belgium’s Alex Witsel and former
Manchester City midfielder Javi Garcia, which promises to be a testing night
for the Louth men.
Dundalk captain Stephen O'Donnell will miss out after suffering a
hamstring injury, with the hectic schedule giving manager Stephen Kenny a major
headache as he struggles to get players fit for duty.
Chris
Mountney is unlikely to feature due to a back injury, while Sean Gannon and
Chris Shields are also doubtful.
Dundalk last played on Monday night running out 3-0 winners over Longford,
while they will turn their attention to a meeting with Bohemians on Sunday
evening once tonight’s European commitments have been completed.
Zenit boss Mircea Lucescu fully
expects his side to leave the Capital with three points tonight but realises it
will not be easy for the Russians.
“We
expect to win. Zenit is a team of Champions League level. It will be difficult
to win in both matches, but we expect it to do it.”
“Dundalk is a good team and it’s no wonder they have won
three championships in a row,” he said.
“It’s no
wonder they take part in the group stages of the Europa League.
“Before that they beat the Icelandic champions,
they beat BATE Borisov, which is not very easy, and they were almost an equal
playing against the Polish champions.”
All eyes will be on Dundalk’s player of the season so far
as Daryl Horgan continues to impress with Championship side Ipswich town
rumoured to be interested in the signing the former Galway man.
Another stand out performance tonight against what will
be his toughest opponents in Zenit could have more managers chasing his
signature but may also finally see the 24 year old called up for International
duty by Martin O’Neill ahead of next months Internationals.
With his contract up at the end of the season and having
had a taste of football outside the League of Ireland, Dundalk will do well to
hold onto their star player.
Should the club continue to impress in the Europa League,
manager Stephen Kenny too could prove to be a wanted man.
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