Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Qarabag manager predicts battle against Aberdeen after admitting shocking pitch is not fit for a passing game

Qarabag manager Gurban Gurbanov. Pic supplied by Qarabag FK
Qarabag manager Gurban Gurbanov. Pic supplied by Qarabag FK

Qarabag manager Gurban Gurbanov fears the shocking state of the pitch for tonight’s Euro clash against Aberdeen could turn the play-off tie into a battle.

The pitch at the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium is so bad Qarabag considered approaching UEFA to request the venue be changed for tonight’s Europa Conference League play-off first leg tie.

However, the time-frame before the clash with the Dons was too tight for a UEFA delegate to fly out to Azerbaijan to assess any alternative.

Qarabag boss Gurbanov admits it will be impossible to play a passing game on the surface.

Aberdeen chairman shared photos of the rutted pitch, stating it cut up as soon as the Dons started training on it on the eve of the tie.

Cormack also hit out at UEFA for sanctioning the pitch, slating the decision as ‘atrocious’, especially when there are better alternatives in Baku.

Qarabag set up the clash with Aberdeen by defeating Cypriot outfit AEL Limassol 1-0 in Ajerbaijan to progress 2-1 on aggregate.

After the match, AEL manager Dusan Kerkez was critical of the pitch, describing it as ‘very poor’.

Qarabag gaffer Gurbanov has now said: “The grass will not be better than before because only one week has passed.

“We would also like to play on good grass.

“We will have difficulty playing with the ball.

“There will be too much fighting on the field tomorrow.

“We will try not to give Aberdeen a chance.”

The condition of the pitch will be frustrating for Gurbanov, who is renowned for instilling a passing, attractive style of play to Qarabag.

Gurbanov is a longtime admirer of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and his style of play.

In 2012, he visited Guardiola and spent days studying his footballing philosophy.

His Qarabag team have even been compared to Barcelona in the Azerbaijan press.

Qarabag are a club with European pedigree.

Nothing will be decided in Baku

Qarabag have qualified for the group stages of European competition for each of the last seven seasons – once in the Champions League and six times in the Europa League.

Gurbanov believes nothing will be decided in Baku tonight and expects the tie to be alive for the return in Pittodrie on Thursday.

Aberdeen have made 18,000 tickets available for the second leg and are hoping for a sell-out.

Gurbanov said: “It is a very important match.

“Although the first match will be held in Baku, everything will be decided in the return match.”

The start of the Euro campaign. Aberdeen’s Lewis Ferguson scores a penalty to make it 2-0 against Sweden’s BK Hacken at Pittodrie.

Gurbanov’s concerns over Aberdeen’s goal threat

Aberdeen are bidding to reach the group stages in Europe for the first time since the UEFA Cup in 2007.

Gurbanov has put his side on red alert about the goal threat carried by the Dons and aims to snuff that out in Baku tonight, where the temperature at kick-off is set to exceed 30 degrees.

He said: “Aberdeen seem a confident team and they hope for victory.

“However, we are also confident.

“Our players know Aberdeen well.

“Aberdeen like to play with the ball and they can score easily.

“They can create a goal  from nothing and score.

“Aberdeen are also good in second balls, so we will try to prevent this.

“We must be careful in all components, and I believe we will be able to do it.”