At the start of the Europa League campaign, Polish champions Lech Poznan were outside bets to finish in the top two in Group A with Juventus and Manchester City pencilled as the main contenders. However, a strong home form has enabled the Railwaymen to station themselves in pole position heading into Matchday 5.
Jose Mari Bakero's side currently lead the table with seven points from four matches - same as many as Man City. A triumph over former Italian champions Juventus tonight will ascertain Lech's place in the knockout phase and with an unbeaten record at the Stadion Miejski in the Europa League they will be confident of a memorable win. Furthermore, Lech will also be buoyed by their performance in Turin on Matchday 1 when they held the Bianconeri to a 3-3 draw.
However, Lech are not doing well in the Polish league this season and failed to win against Korona Kielce at the weekend. The goalless draw dragged them to 11th in the division, meaning that a successful Europa League run is going to be their salvation.
Registering A Win
Juventus appear to be seeking to draw their way into the knockout phase of the Europa League as they have drawn all of their four games in the competition this season. Italy's most famous and successful club commenced the campaign with a thrilling 3-3 draw with Lech Poznan at home, then held Manchester City at Eastlands, failed to beat Salzburg away and on Matchday 4 played out a disappointing goalless draw with the Austrians in Turin.
Currently placed third in Group A with four points from as many games, Luigi Del Neri's side are three points behind both Man City and Lech Poznan and need a victory tonight to maintain their chances of progression from the group especially as their final game is against Manchester City in Italy.
Juve, though, have looked rejuvenated after an early season blip and are going from strength to strength especially in Serie A. The Old Lady are unbeaten in 10 league encounters and after drawing 1-1 with Fiorentina at the weekend are just six points behind leaders Milan in third.
TEAM NEWS
Lech Poznan
Joel Tshibamba suffered a broken nose in a car accident last week and is not available. Sergey Krivets and Artjoms Rudnevs are carrying minor knocks.
Juventus
Marco Motta, Zdenek Grygera, Nicola Legrottaglie, Paolo De Ceglie and Amauri are out. Vincenzo Iaquinta has recovered from flu and will start in attack alongside Alessandro Del Piero.
Prediction
Juventus will be under pressure to win tonight and put an end to the sequence of draws. However, Lech Poznan are unbeaten at home in the competition and it is likely that they will maintain that record. A draw under freezing conditions seems to be in the offing.
Lech Poznan 1-1 Juventus 
