Zambian striker Edward Chilufya has been named in the Djurgadens IF match squad for this evening’s UEFA Europa League encounter against Europa FC.
Compatriot Emmanuel Banda who was stretched out in the loss to the Hungarian side almost a month ago is still out injured. The Swedish Champions will also be without Erik Berg, Jesper Nyholm, Nicklas Bärkroth, and Alexander Abrahamsson who are all still on their road to recovery.
Här är truppen till matchen mot Europa FC! Läs om läget i laget och om våra motståndare på https://t.co/PUmOG0VUk7. pic.twitter.com/FoYjlTso1Q
— Djurgården Fotboll (@DIF_Fotboll) September 16, 2020
Djurgadens IF initially qualified for the UEFA Champions League but were handed a premature elimination by Hungarian side Ferencvaros thanks to a 2-0 loss away at the tif Aréna in Budapest. Europa also lost their Champions League qualifier against Röda Stjärnan 5-0 and now drop to the Europa League which enters the qualifying second round.
It will not be an easy game for Djurgadens, Europa FC was the first team from Gibraltar to play in the Europa League when they qualified in 2014 and has since played qualifiers for EL and CL every year.
Chilufya who has had a good season will be expected to lead the attack and provide the threat upfront and maybe get one or two goals for coach Kim Bergstrand’s team.
Bergstrand is expecting a tough match against the team from Gibraltar.
“They beat AIK a few years ago and drew 0-0 against the Polish champions this spring, so there are a bunch of skilled players we meet who are organized to be able to disrupt good teams. But it is clear that we should be able to find ways to hurt them and I think our game, as we played last time, suits them well. But we must be very careful in our game and have great respect for what Europa FC does,” he said.
Djurgadens will host Europa FC this evening at the Tele 2 Arena in Stockholm at 19:00hrs.
Äntligen dags för Europaspel igen! Allt du behöver veta inför matchen hittar du på https://t.co/PUmOG0VUk7. Framåt Djurgår’n! pic.twitter.com/oieyEpYkp6
— Djurgården Fotboll (@DIF_Fotboll) September 17, 2020
