Ferencvarosi coach expects Mohamed Salah to play different role against Trabzonspor

Balazs Borbely says Ferencvarosi expect Mohamed Salah to operate in a different position when Trabzonspor visit the Groupama Arena for the second leg of their Europa League play-off on Thursday.

Trabzonspor travel to Budapest having lost the first meeting 1-0 in Turkey, with a place in the league phase at stake. Ferencvarosi’s manager believes the narrow advantage will not necessarily force the visitors into an open game and has urged his players to approach the tie with discipline.

“I do not think our victory in the first match will make the opponents play an open game, so we have to play intelligently, starting with a well-organised defence, while focusing on exploiting spaces and creating scoring chances,” Borbely said at his pre-match news conference.

The Hungarian side have studied the first encounter again, as well as Trabzonspor’s domestic match at the weekend. Borbely said that analysis had given them a clear indication that Salah’s role is likely to change.

“I think every match is different, and each game has its own circumstances. This match will also be different from the one we played in Turkey,” he added.

“We analysed the previous game and watched Trabzonspor’s league match at the weekend, and we know that Mohamed Salah will play in a different position from last week.”

Salah faced Ferencvarosi as a winger in the first leg. He then impressed against Basaksehir after being used as a striker, scoring his first goal for Trabzonspor.

Borbely is preparing his team for another demanding contest, especially after the second half of the opening match in Turkey. Ferencvarosi’s manager says his players have spent the week working to improve their performance and believes they can carry that progress into the decisive fixture.

“I expect a match similar to the second half in Turkey. We are ready to be better than we were there. We have worked hard this week, and I think we can bring that work and that approach on to the pitch on Thursday as well,” he said.

The tie will be decided at the Groupama Arena in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, on Thursday at 21:30 Egypt time.

The match will be broadcast on On Sport Plus, with Bilal Allam providing commentary.