Gent and Levski strive to survive
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Article summary
KAA Gent will look to keep their qualification hopes alive at the expense of PFC Levski Sofia as the Bulgarian side aim to avoid defeat for the first time in four visits to Belgium in Group C.
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KAA Gent will look to keep their qualification hopes alive at the expense of PFC Levski Sofia as the Bulgarian side aim to avoid defeat for the first time in four visits to Belgium in UEFA Europa League Group C.
• No scenario will see both of these sides reach the last 32. A draw coupled with LOSC Lille Métropole taking all three points at Sporting Clube de Portugal, would spell the end of Levski's campaign.
Previous meetings
• Serginho Greene's goal six minutes from the end earned Levski a 3-2 victory when the sides met for the first time on Matchday 1, in what was Gent's first game against a Bulgarian side.
• That was Levski's first win against a Belgian side, with their record against Gent's countrymen now reading W1 D2 L4 (W0 D0 L3 in Belgium). Yet to avoid defeat on Belgian soil, they have also not scored in their last two visits.
Match background
• Gent's 3-1 success against Sporting Clube de Portugal on Matchday 4 matched their best ever home victories in UEFA club competition. They had won 3-1 once before and also 2-0 on one occasion. That result was also their first victory in Group C.
• Levski are without a win in their last four away games since beating Dundalk FC 2-0 in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round back in July. They have not scored in their last three European trips.
Team facts
• Levski's Michael Tawiah celebrates his 20th birthday on the day of the match.
• A midfielder with Hulse Sport, Gent coach Francky Dury combined a football career with a full-time job as a police officer until 2007, when his success with SV Zulte Waregem – whom he guided from third tier to top flight in barely four years – persuaded him to go professional. Having won the 2005/06 Belgian Cup, he left Zulte Waregem after nine years to become Gent coach this summer.
• Levski coach Yasen Petrov spent one season as an attacking midfielder with the club in 1991/92, representing their local rivals FC Lokomotiv Sofia and FC Slavia Sofia as well as clubs in China, Cyprus and Germany. Twice a Bulgarian Cup winner as a player, he won three international caps and coached four other top-tier clubs before being hired as Levski coach in May 2010.
