Watching the Europa League knockout draw on stream, expecting Everton to draw a big side to ruin our dream (as usual), however it wasn’t going to be a travel to face AS Roma or short-distance to Celtic, it would be traveling to Switzerland and facing 11-time Swiss Super League winners BSC Young Boys. Being the 5th most decorated club in Switzerland, Young Boys just about qualified into the knockout stages, thanks to Napoli beating Sparta Prague however, despite ending second whilst we ended top of our group, Young Boys had more points than we did at the end of the group stages. Who will be the ‘danger man’ for the Swiss team? What is there biggest weakness? Who should the Toffees start going into the first leg?
The Gaffer – Uli Forte
Here is the manager of The Yellows, Uli Forte. Despite being a young manager, Uli has some experience in managing Switzerland clubs, being manager of FC Red Star Zurich (2001-2006, Player-Manager role), FC Wil 1900 (2006-2008), FC St. Gallen (2008-2011), Grasshopper Zurich (2012-2013) and now BSC Young Boys, being manager for two years.
Despite no silverware at the moment at Young Boys, he has made a big effect at the clubs he has been in. At Grasshopper Zurich, he moved the team from down in the relegation zone to a third place finish and a chance to play in the Champions League, also picking up the Swiss Cup for the first time in almost 20 years (beating FC Basel in a penalty shoot-out).
Forte has a good record being manager, with a 57% win ratio as being the boss.
Strengths:
Winning Duels
Out of all 48 Europa League teams in this season’s campaign, BSC Young Boys have won the highest percentage of duels (55%). They also have the highest percentage of tackles being won (51%) and have completed 54% of all take-ons, which is one of the best in this campaign. This not only allows them to be strong defensively, but also creating chances and breaking forward – which is what they would likely set-up to do. With tall players such as Gregory Wüthrich and Jan Lecjaks in the side (if they both play), the could win duels with ease and force a break and if you’ve got Gareth Barry as your last man back, your probably not in a great situation.
Scoring Late Goals
Here is a chart of BSC Young Boys’ goals and what time they go in in the Swiss Super League. As you can see 22.9% of their goals appear to happen between the 75th and 90th minute (8 goals). Young Boys score a lot of goals is well, just two league games out of twenty played in which they haven’t scored.
Young Boys scored 13 times in the Group Stage, only 4 other teams scored more. Despite this, just two where from outside the penalty box. Everton have conceded just one from outside the area, so if the defensive is solid for the whole 90 minutes and force meaningless shots from outside the area, The Toffees should be able to resist the Young Boys attack.
Weaknesses
Keeping Clean Sheets
Before jumping into conclusions about this point, Young Boys didn’t concede a single goal at home in the group stage. So why mention this as a weakness? Out of the 10 home matches they’ve played this season in the Swiss Super League, they have kept just one clean sheet. The Swiss team haven’t kept a clean sheet in the league since August after beating Grasshopper 4-0 at home. Despite being well organized defensively, it’s been a struggle for them to keep clean sheets. Lets hope Romelu Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas are just as optimistic as I am.
Holding Possession
Here is the list of Europa League teams that have the lowest amount of possession. There is nothing wrong being a side set-up to counter-attack and sit back, Young Boys are one of those teams. They have an average possession percentage of 47%, only one other team that qualified for the knockout rounds had a lower percentage (Guingamp – 46%).
Everton are one of the best at holding possession (mostly because we pass around the back) so don’t be surprised if you see Everton with a high amount of possession. Lets hope we can actually use it for once.
Key Men
Guillaume Hoarau – Forward
Key Stat: The 30-year-old Frenchman has won 26 (63%) of his aerial duels; nobody else in this season’s Europa League has won more.
Certainly a man that we don’t want unmarked in the 90th minute when the ball comes into the box. Hoarau was a danger in the French Ligue 1 with his aerial abilities, scoring many times for Le Havre and Paris Saint-Germain but now at BSC Young Boys and he has made a big impact. Guillaume has scored in all of the games he has played in Europa League this season, except from one against Napoli. The 6 ft 4 in striker would be a big threat, so John Stones would probably be the man marking him.
Steve Von Bergen – Defender
Key Stat: Only three other defenders have made more clearances (57) than the Swiss International.
Featuring in two different World Cups for Switzerland and the captain of the team, Von Bergen is a defender who has great experience into the team and overall would be difficult to get past. The center-back has played in both the Bundesliga and Serie A, so he has certainly come up against some good strikers in the past.
Sekou Sanogo Junior – Defensive Midfielder
Key Stat: Just two other players have won more duels (includes tackles, take-ons and aerial) than the Ivory Coast midfielder.
Providing a good aerial presence, Sekou Sanogo is a good defensive mid who would be a difficult man to get past. Sekou will also be a target in dead ball situations, just like Hoarau. Despite his danger he can give away unnecessary fouls which could provide a good chance for us at a dead ball.
Who should we start with?
Option 1
Probably our strongest line-up (not sure about Baines being fit otherwise he would be in there). With Christian Atsu returning to the team, I think it’s about time we gave him a chance in the side, especially after his impressive displays at AFCON. His pace and agility could create chances for Romelu Lukaku if he has the confidence (which he’s been lacking in recent times). It’s important to start John Stones as I feel he is our best in the air compared to other players for us. Ross Barkley must play attacking midfield also, completely wasted on the wings.
Option 2
Probably a risk to start with as a 4-2-2-2 isn’t a formation that we play, but starting with two strikers could frustrate the heck out the two centre-backs. With Steven Naismith in a striker’s role, his pressing could be key forcing mistakes out from the Young Boys’ defence and create chances – which is what we need. With Bryan Oviedo and Seamus Coleman going up, this would give them more options in the box rather than just Romelu Lukaku. This could be a formation that could work, but with Barkley it might not go to plan.
The Prediction
No doubt that this would be difficult for Everton with Young Boys’ aerial abilities. I can see us with a lot of possession in both games, but not many chances created. I don’t think neither legs would be high scoring so it could be another ‘Lille away’ performance. 1-1 draw first-leg, 1-0 win second-leg. Everton to progress.
Up the toffees,
All stats via soccerway.com and squawka.
Joel Parker
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