Lokomotiv Moscow will thrive on the passionate atmosphere at Athletic Bilbao’s stadium as they look to cling on to a 2-1 lead in the second leg of their Europa League knockout tie, coach Jose Couceiro said Wednesday.
Felipe Caicedo's half-volley gave Lokomotiv a comeback victory in the first leg last week, setting up a knife-edge second leg in the Basque country on Thursday, when the hosts need only a 1-0 win to go through.
"The atmosphere there is truly fantastic. But I don’t that that’ll be a problem for us," Couceiro said.
The likely prize for the winners will be a match with English champions Manchester United, who lead Ajax 2-0 after their first-leg game.
Couceiro said that he had attended the Basque team’s fanatical supporters when Athletic beat Malaga 3-0 on Sunday.
“If you love football, then playing in an atmosphere like that is a real pleasure and a significant motivation.”
Lokomotiv defender Taras Burlak said he would draw extra motivation from the hostile home crowd
“On the pitch tomorrow, 12 players will be against us, not 11. That should fire us up. In these situations you always feel like proving to everyone, especially to yourself, that you can cope,” he said.
“The lads are all committed and understand the test that’s waiting for us.”
Athletic are unbeaten in European games at home since a 3-0 defeat to Germany’s Werder Bremen in 2009, while Lokomotiv scored three goals in both of their last two European away fixtures.
Russia international striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, Lokomotiv’s star January signing, is not eligible for the match because he has already played in the Europa League this season for Tottenham Hotspur.
Athletic midfielder has been sidelined since October with a torn cruciate ligament and will not play, while defender Iban Zubiaurre is returning from injury and is a doubt for the match.
The hosts may also be unsettled by reports in English newspapers linking Athletic coach Marcelo Bielsa to the job of Chelsea coach.
