Shamrock Rovers prepare to go into the unknown

Richard Brush, the Shamrock Rovers goalkeeper, is looking forward to another Europa League outing tonight, despite admitting that the competition represents a new frontier for his side.

Rovers are the first League of Ireland side to progress to the group stages of a major European competition, but they have suffered back-to-back defeats in their opening Group A fixtures. "We're a bit into the unknown at the minute, but I'm sure the manager has plenty [of video footage] for us to watch between now and the match," Brush said.

In the other Group A game, Tottenham Hotspur take on the Russian side Rubin Kazan, and yesterday Harry Redknapp, the manager, said that the team have turned to yoga and pilates classes in a bid to boost the long-term fitness of his squad.

"It's fantastic. We have been getting in to doing the yoga and I think pilates is just an amazing thing," the veteran manager said.

Adrian, the Atletico Madrid striker, is confident goals will come when they take on Udinese in tonight's Europa League battle for Group I supremacy.

"It's true that we are not scoring but we are creating many opportunities and sooner or later we will be rewarded," he said.

Udinese and Atletico have each collected four points from their opening two games.

A total of 24 games will be played in the Europa League tonight, marking the midway point in the groups stage of the tournament.