Polster arrival boosts Austria

With the UEFA Cup set to resume after its winter break, uefa.com looks at the form of the 32 clubs involved in first-leg ties this week.

FK Austria Wien v Athletic Club Bilbao
By making it to this stage Austria have secured European football after Christmas for the first time in 20 years. A week after the decisive victory against FC Utrecht in December, the club was further boosted by the appointment of former international Toni Polster as general manager. The game against Athletic will be their first competitive game since that UEFA Cup tie, though there was a mixed start to 2005 as an under-strength team failed to progress past the group stage of the traditional indoor Hallencup tournament.

The club then moved to a Spanish training camp in Marbella, where they played a series of friendly fixtures. Sigurd Rushfeldt was on target in 1-1 draws with Brøndby IF and Russian side FC Saturn Ramenskoye, and Austria then beat BSC Young Boys 1-0 and FC Rubin Kazan 2-1. A trip to Croatia, and a 1-0 loss to NK Varteks, followed. Since the winter break two players have arrived, but only Polish international playmaker Sebastian Mila from Groclin Grodzisk Wielkopolski will be eligible for the UEFA Cup as Czech defender Adam Petrous represented former club Rubin at an earlier stage. Midfield player Markus Kiesenebner also misses the meeting with Atletic due to thigh muscle problems.

Players registered: Sebastian Mila, Thomas Arthaber (B list).
Players out: Radovan Vujanovic, Bartolomej Kuru (B list).

Athletic's indifferent league form has been eclipsed by a brilliant run in the Copa del Rey. The Group B winners saw out 2004 with a 4-0 Primera División win against RCD Mallorca and are unbeaten in 2005. They began the new year with 1-1 draws against CD Numancia and RCD Espanyol and earned their first win of the year when overturning a three-goal deficit to defeat
CA Osasuna, Julen Guerrero hitting a late winner. Since then the Basque side have drawn their last three matches - 2-2 against reigning champions Valencia CF, 1-1 versus RC Deportivo La Coruña and 4-4 against Real Betis Balompié on Sunday. Athletic currently occupy ninth position in the league.

One player who has begun to make a name for himself is 19-year-old striker Fernando Llorente. Having only made his debut against Espanyol in January, Llorente scored a hat trick in his next game as Ernesto Valverde's team recorded an emphatic 6-0 victory against UD Lanzarote to win through to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. The club has been further boosted by Luis Prieto signing a new contract until 2009, while Javi González has now returned from a long-term knee injury.

Players registered: Gontzal Rodríguez Diez.
Players out: Gorka Azkorra Trueba, Igor Angulo Alboniga (B list)