Lech Poznan boss senses 'opportunities' in Europa League clash with Sunderland

Lech Poznan head coach Niels Frederiksen has revealed he has identified ‘possibilities’ after watching Sunderland in the build-up to Thursday evening’s Europa League clash at the ENEA Stadion.

The Polish champions have made a slow start to their European campaign after falling to a pair of 4-0 defeats against Crystal Palace and Bayer Leverkusen and they are sitting at the foot of the league phase table ahead of their meeting with Regis Le Bris’ side.

By contrast, the Black Cats have enjoyed a positive introduction to life in the Europa League after collecting maximum points from a home game with AZ Alkmaar and last week’s trip to Torreense. However, Sunderland will head to Poland on the back of a deeply disappointing defeat at Premier League rivals Bournemouth after they suffered a 2-0 defeat at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Frederiksen has conceded his side are still facing a tough test against the Black Cats - but insisted they will have ‘some possibilities’ to take something positive from the game.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the former Esbjerg and Brondby manager said: “It would probably not be wise of me to say yes I think so. We have to remember that Sunderland is a Premier League team. They have a strong team, they have good players. But I see some possibilities. I would also be honest and say that I see some possibilities that we have in this game, that maybe was a bit more difficult to see at least against Leverkusen. But it will not be easy. It will be a tough game, a Premier League team. Premier League is still higher level than we normally compete against. But I think we have some possibilities. Let me put it that way.”

Lech are without top goalscorer Allahyar Sayyadmanesh after he picked up a hamstring injury earlier this month and Alex Douglas and Ali Gholizadeh are also on the sidelines with ankle and ACL injuries respectively. However, there was some positive news for the hosts as midfielder Radoslaw Murawski is available once again after serving a one-match ban for the red card he received in the defeat at Palace on matchday one.

The Echo’s Europa League coverage is sponsored by Amari Plastics. Covering all of North East England and Cumbria, Amari Plastics launched in 1975 and has built a reputation as the region's leading plastic distributor. During this time, we’ve established strong working relationships with businesses in three main market sectors: sign, display & large format printing, building & construction and industrial & engineering.

Your next Sunderland read: Exclusive: Kevin Phillips throws support behind 'brilliant' Regis Le Bris amid recent Sunderland form dip