By Fernando Kallas
SEVILLE (Reuters) – Jesper Lindstrom has recovered from injury and will start for Eintracht Frankfurt against Rangers in Wednesday’s Europa League final which will be played in scorching heat at Seville’s Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.
Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst kept faith with the same team that overcame RB Leipzig in their semi-final second leg at Ibrox.
Eintracht Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner named Lindstrom in his starting lineup after the Dane was forced off through injury in their 2-1 win over West Ham United in the first leg of their last-four clash.
Rangers’ Kemar Roofe has recovered from a knee injury that sidelined the Jamaican midfielder for several weeks and will start on the bench.
The temperature in Seville was around 34 degrees Celsius around an hour before kickoff as a heat-wave sweeps across southern Europe.
If the temperature exceeds 32C at kick off, UEFA will sanction water breaks after 30 and 60 minutes.
Around 150,000 supporters have come to southern Spain’s largest city over the past few days.
According to Police, there has been only one incident prior to the game, when five Eintracht Frankfurt fans were arrested in Seville late on Tuesday after some 200 of the German club’s supporters attacked Rangers fans.
Rangers, beaten in the 2008 Europa League final by Zenit St Petersburg, are hoping to win their first European silverware in 50 years following their success in the now-defunct Cup Winners’ Cup in 1972.
Eintracht Frankfurt are bidding to end their 42-year barren run in Europe, having won the Europa League when it was called the UEFA Cup in 1980.
Teams:
Eintracht: 1- Kevin Trapp; 35-Tuta, 18-Almamy Toure, 2-Evan N’Dicka; 36-Ansgar Knauff, 8-Djibril Sow, 17-Sebastian Rode, 29-Jesper Lindstrom, 15-Daichi Kamada, 10-Filip Kostic; 19-Santos Borre.
Rangers: 1-Allan McGregor; 2-James Tavernier, 6-Connor Goldson, 3-Calvin Bassey, 31-Boma Barisic; 8-Ryan Jack, 4-John Lundstram, 14-Ryan Kent, 23-Scott Wright, 18-Glen Kamara; 17-Joe Aribo.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Toby Davis)
