Jack fit to face AEK
- Hibs are ready!
Midfielder trains and is ready
for Athens - STUART CROWTHER
NEWS
FROM ATHENS THIS MORNING indicates that Hibs midfielder Mathias Jack
has recovered from his weekend injury suffered against Dunfermline at
Easter Road - and will line up this evening against AEK Athens in the
Nikos Goumas stadium.
Jack came through a light training session last
night at the stadium, and now looks certain to take his place along with
Tom McManus, another injury worry from the weekend. There will
however be no dream return to the Hibs squad for French midfielder
Frederic Arpinon. After turning in good performances for the
Under-21's, Arpinon was added to the squad and might have expected a place
on the Hibs bench, unfortunately Arpinon suffered a knock in Hibs
Under-21's 2-1 defeat at St Johnstone on Monday and has not recovered in
time to feature in Athens.
The
talk this morning is all about Hibs starting line-up. Alex McLeish
has fielded the same side in back-to-back SPL wins over Motherwell and
Dunfermline, and the question remains will he risk making any changes for
a UEFA Cup tie that poses very different problems from those expected in
the SPL. One change being suggested is bringing in David Zitelli for
Tom McManus, primarily because of the experience Zitelli has at this
level. Alex McLeish however can be expected to stick with McManus,
as his pace could prove vital against the Greeks in particular running off
the knock-downs provided by Craig Brewster, who looks certain to start.
Mathias Jack (right) with Alan Smart - ready for Europe (sns)
Alex
McLeish admitted yesterday that AEK will have a pretty good idea both on
his starting line-up and the way Hibs will play, and that very much
indicates that he is looking to field an unchanged side once again.
Hibs No.1 Nick Colgan will certainly start the game, and is looking at
being a lot busier than he was on Sunday when the Irishman chose to take
the field during half-time to ensure he remained sharp after having little
or nothing to do in the opening 45 minutes. "I
expect to be busier than I was on Sunday," Colgan confessed, adding:
"I hope I'm not but don't think that will be very likely! This
will be my first taste of European football having sat on the bench when
with Chelsea but never actually playing."
AEK
meanwhile remain confident, with boss Fernandos Santos predicting his side
will be in the draw for the second round. He said: "I believe
my team is capable of winning and I have complete confidence in my
players. We expect a good match against Hibs but I expect it will be
to the good of Greek football." Hibs though will cope fine this
morning according to Hibs assistant boss Andy Watson: "We
went for a walk this morning, which did not please the locals as they had
to get permission for us to do that and even then it was with a police
escort. We will have a team talk early this afternoon before the
guys take another rest this afternoon. Hibs might have a surprise in
terms of the formation we play tonight, but before we tell the world what
that might be we will discuss it with the players this afternoon.
"I've seen AEK
play three times, and they have played a very attacking formation in each
of these games so we know what to expect. Our players will be ready
though."
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