'Underdogs Zorya Looking Forward To The European Experience'
- Ukrainian side Zorya Luhansk travel to Leicester City Stadium on Thursday (8pm kick-off)
- The fixture is both clubs' opening UEFA Europa League group stage game of 2020/21
- Sports Journalist Bogdan Buga says Zorya should not be taken lightly and have talented players within their ranks
- Zorya have made an indifferent start to the league season after rebuilding their squad over the summer, Buga adds
Ukrainian Super League outfit Zorya travel to Leicester City Stadium on Thursday evening for the opening Group G fixture (8pm kick-off).
'The Men' have plenty of experience in continental competition, playing in the Europa League for the seventh consecutive season and reaching the group stage for the third time.
Buga talked about the club's standing within their homeland and how they will approach the game, when speaking to LCFC Radio, which is to provide full coverage throughout the evening.
"This side is often called the 'Third Horse' in Ukraine, because we have two top clubs, Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk and Zorya is the team who can sometimes create problems for these clubs," Buga explained.
"For example, in this season, they started quite badly because they only have six points from six games in the league, but two points from two games against Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv. They also know how to play in the difficult circumstances, like in England, for example.
"They lack experience because last season they didn't qualify for the Europa League group stage, they also lost a lot of key players in the summer, including two full-backs, Bohdan Mykhaylychenko and Oleksandr Tymchyk.
"That's why they had to rebuild their play again, every year they have to rebuild."
Having faced Manchester United home and away in the group stage of the 2016/17 competition, Buga believes that Zorya's players will be looking forward to another chance to come up against an English team and test themselves on the European stage.
Despite Leicester starting the game as favourites to win, Buga adds that the Ukrainians should not be taken lightly.
He continued: "Of course, against such a club like Leicester, like against any Premier League club, they will be big underdogs. For them, it's more about experience, it's more about playing in a great stadium against a great team than about the result.
"But, of course, like we say in Ukraine, organisation beats class, so sometimes a well organised team can beat or at least not lose to a bigger club so we hope this will be the case.
"We saw this when they played against Manchester United three years ago, they worked so hard, they put all their efforts on the pitch. Of course, they lost two games but they lost them with pride.
"Also, for some young players from Zorya, this will be an opportunity to show themselves also for the national team and show they can play on the international level.
"Sometimes players from these clubs feel that Andriy Shevchenko (the Ukraine manager) only looks for Shakhtar or Dynamo players and players who play abroad."
Buga also picked out the main threats that could cause City problems on Thursday evening, including Ukrainian midfielder Vladyslav Kocherhin, who tops Zorya's scoring charts with three goals to his name so far this season.
"There are some players talented players in there. In my opinion, the best player for Zorya is Kocherhin," Buga commented.
"He is a 24-year-old all-round midfielder who can play in any position in midfield or in the middle, so he has a lot of potential, he has everything, technique, speed, stamina.
"Also they have Vladlen Yurchenko, who played for Bayer Leverkusen, who has experience in the UEFA Champions League and Bundesliga, so this is a player you always can rely on. He is the backbone of this team.
"The goalkeeper is also very good, Mykyta Shevchenko, their captain. These are three players I would pick from this team."