By ESPNsoccernet staff
Fulham manager Martin Jol expects Twente Enschede to ring the changes for Thursday's Europa League clash in Holland,
but the Dutchman is preparing for a tough clash against his former club.
The Cottagers head to Enschede, where Jol played between 1979 and 1982, in second place in Group K but know
that victory against the group leaders will seal their progression to the last 32.
And despite Twente having already qualified for the next phase, Jol expects the club
to put up a good fight at De Grolsch Veste.
Jol said: "I feel that they will probably think about changing the line-up but not in
the way we do in England. There could be two, three or four other players, but they are at home so have
to show what they are capable of.
"Twente have developed into a very good club. When I was here they were
getting [crowds of] 10,000 and now they are getting over 20,000 all the time. It is getting bigger and bigger so getting results goes with that
responsibility. They have showed that over the past three or four years.
"It was a nice club [when I played there]. We had good players and maybe we
didn't realise how good we were. We were always a good club but, over the past four or five years, they have
gone to the Champions League level or at least to the qualification stage.
"They were champions two years ago and that was awesome. They had 86 points and Ajax had 85 points [when I was manager] so we missed
out by one point. I feel FC Twente are playing good football, play for results and it is a very
good club.''
Fulham will look for victory without key first-team players Clint Dempsey
and Chris Baird.
Dempsey will miss the clash with a thigh complaint, while Northern Ireland
defender Baird is out due to personal reasons.
Steve Sidwell remains out with a hernia injury, while Bryan Ruiz is ineligible
to face his former club.
The Costa Rica international departed Twente for west London in the summer, but
will be at the match on Thursday as he will be honoured by his former club.
"I think they have something up their sleeve,'' Jol said.
"They want to celebrate something with him, a little party before or after the
game. He asked if he could go there with his girlfriend and I gave him
permission.''
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