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Kewell Warns Roma To Beware Of The New-Look Leeds, Plus: Spanish Rearguard Prepare For Firing Gunners

365 Interview by Ian Cruise

HARRY KEWELL has warned Roma that the current Leeds United team will be a different proposition to the Elland Road class of '98. The Italians ended Leeds' UEFA Cup adventure in the second round 16 months ago, but the Australian is confident that the Yorkshire outfit can set the record straight this time around.

Leeds lost 1-0 on aggregate to the Serie A giants in last season's competition, beaten only by a Marco Delvecchio goal in the Olympic Stadium in Rome in the first leg. And although United received generous plaudits for their performance in the 0-0 return, Kewell is determined they will have more than just applause and sympathy to show for their efforts in the next fortnight.

"This season will be different," the 21-year-old forward told Football365. "We are doing really well in the league and have gained considerable experience in Europe. The players are confident and, if we can get the right result in Italy, it should set us up for a cracking game at Eland Road.

"We know it will be tough in Rome and we know they will want to make home advantage count. But last season we coped pretty well with them and could have nicked a goal ourselves. Roma will be aware that the last thing they want to do is give a goal away and, while we expect them to come at us, defensively they will be cautious."

After their excellent performances in Europe so far, in which Leeds have beaten Partizan Belgrade, Lokomotiv Moscow and Spartak Moscow - all in testing conditions - Kewell has every reason to be optimistic as he approaches a second successive Italian job. And one look around the pitch on match day convinces him that it is not blind optimism.

"The evidence is there for everyone to see," he added. "We have had no fear going away in Europe and have scored quite a few goals in the process. Players like Lee Bowyer, Ian Harte, Alan Smith and Michael Bridges are all playing well. The team manage to create plenty of chances as well, and that is encouraging.

"We’ve managed to build on the success of last season. I think people had their reservations, they wondered whether we were one-season wonders. We have silenced a few critics in that respect. We are not cocky, we play as a team and we have a manager who is committed to winning."

And that commitment doesn't just extend to Europe because, even though Leeds now trail Manchester United by six points in the Premiership, they have not abandoned hope of ending the season as domestic top dogs. "We have to keep plugging away in the hope we can catch them," insisted Kewell. "People have said it would be a great season for us if we qualify for the Champions League, but we have not given up on the title. It is still a realistic goal."

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DEPORTIVO SCARED OF DUTCH DUO

By Guillem Balague, Sky Sports' Spanish Football Expert

DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA may be top of the Spanish League but they are still worried about what Arsenal's Dutch duo could do to them at Highbury on tonight.

Spanish clubs are very scared of English teams, despite having a very good record against them recently, and Deportivo are mostly worried about Marc Overmars and Dennis Bergkamp. They will be pleased that Bergkamp is not playing in the second leg because they respect those two a lot. The Dutch national team gets a lot of coverage in Spain and while Real Betis made a big offer for Bergkamp recently, Overmars is definitely coming to Barcelona next season – that's a done deal, although Barca will not admit it.

Highbury is becoming a bit of a legendary stadium for the Spanish – they see it on TV and, while it is not as famous as Old Trafford or Wembley, they love the small ground and the electric atmosphere. That atmosphere will be a factor on Thursday because the UEFA Cup is Arsenal's most important thing now – it's a huge game for them and I expect they will go all-out in attack from the start, but Deportivo are far more concerned with the domestic league, which is a worry.

They usually score in every game though, and coach Javier Irureta will be pleased even if they lose as long as they score at Highbury. He is always defensive-minded away from home but he will be even more so at Arsenal – he has brought four centre-halves and four defensive midfielders with him to London! That suggests that rather than the usual 4-2-3-1 formation, he will sacrifice captain Fran, who has just come back from injury, and leave just Djalminha and Victor to support Roy Makaay up front.

Makaay cost Deportivo £5m from Tenerife in the summer and has repaid that with 18 goals, but he is often left alone in attack and is not good enough to do it all himself. The key man is the Brazilian Djalminha, who plays behind Makaay – if he is in the mood, he can create all sorts of danger for Arsenal. Makaay is clever and will try to take Adams or Keown to the sides to allow Flavio, Fran or Mario Silva through the centre. Makaay gets a lot of crosses in and that may surprise Arsenal because he looks like a traditional British centre-forward. But he is skilful and very mobile, although not as good a finisher as someone like Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

Deportivo are concentrating on the league because they have a chance to win it for the first time ever, but that is not why they will defend so much at Highbury. That is just Irureta's style: he is very happy for the opposition to have as much possession as possible, absorb the pressure and use their pace for quick breaks, passing the ball long and along the ground, with the Brazilians Mario Silva and Flavio in charge of the transition from defence into attack.

I think Arsenal will win 2-1 at Highbury. Deportivo will be pleased enough with that, because I reckon they will win 2-0 back at home. That's where everything will be decided, at Riazor, where they have only lost twice all season, winning all the others.

The win over Mallorca on Sunday was only their fourth since Christmas as the pressure of being top for 14 weeks started to tell. But every team in Spain has had a bad run and Deportivo have come out of their crisis still on top.


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