betprepare.com

Aalborg hoping for an early goal

Brugge did everything with a great performance in the first half an hour in Denmark, today they'll slow down a bit

Brugge did most of the work in Aalborg, pressuring the Danes from the start and scoring three goals in 30 minutes, though one was disallowed, and hitting the goalpost once. Coach Preud'homme pulled a great tactical move with a 3-4-3 setup (which he did not use up to then) and placing young Oulare as the center forward.

One can expect a much less energetic opening today, not only due to their lead but since they lost to Gent on Sunday, which jeopardized their lead in the national league. They have a routine match against Mouscron this weekend, but want to be ready for it.

-I told my players that this is not over, Aalborg will fight to the very last minute. Everything can change really quickly, and it's important that we stay in control- pointed out Preud'homme.

They will gain a major reinforcement on offense with the recovery of Vazquez, but its' doubtful that the coach will risk putting him and Refaelov in. Hero Oulare is also not certain, as experienced De Sutter fits the standard 4-3-3 setup much better. Along with winger Izquierdo and two new players, they'll also be missing midfielder Felipe.

Aalborg are aware Club Brugge are the favorite in this match, but the Danes saw their chance in the first match, at home. Aalborg won all their home matches in the Euroleague this season, beating Dynamo Kiev among others, as well as Steaua Bucurest, so there was hope Brugge will go down as well. It was not meant to be in the end, the Belgians scored a decisive 3-1 victory and reduced the Danish hopes to mere theory today. Luckily, the defeat in Europe did not disturb Aalborg much, as they beat Brondby on weekend and got back some confidence for the trip to Belgium.

-We're not happy with the outcome of the first game, and are aware that our chances for advancement are minimal, but this does not mean we've given up on the European competition. We'll try to replicate the first 25 minutes of the last match, where we held our ground very well and managed to create some good chances in front of Brugge's goal. Our goal is to play a good match and try to get an early lead, and if that happens anything is possible- said coach Kent Nielsen, trying to instill some optimism.

He took 22 players with him to Belgium, leaving at home players with long term injuries, Lukas Spalvis, Jakob Ahlmann and Donny Gorter.

Brugge seemed more rugged back in autumn than they do now, and they still conceded a goal in two out of the three home games played in Europe. They're currently on a six game streak with a goal conceded overall. Today they're in a comfortable position where even 0-2 gets them through, and though defense will be their priority, I doubt they'll manage to contain Aalborg routinely.
The Danes showed they know how to attack in the first match, although they could have scored a few more. They scored in their only remaining spring match against Brondby, as well as the toughest friendly matches prior to that (2-4 with CSKA, 1-2 against Shakhtar, both stronger opponents than Brugge).