Match Previews

FC Twente were held to a 1-1 draw this weekend against NEC Nijmegen...Rendla(sp)(mid) and Rajkovic(sp)(def) missing from the squad because of injuries...N'Kufo(k)(att) sitting out the last match of his suspension...FC Twente played for the first time in their newly rebuild stadium this weekend but their return was ruined by NEC, who scored a late goal to tie the match and share the points. FC Twente played a solid first half in which Elia put them ahead. In the second half the hosts leaned back and almost dragged the victory across the line but Tshibamba put his team alongside Twente only a couple of minutes before full time. This weekend newly signed Stam and Perez made their debut for Twente. They are expected to feature again this Thursday, pushing Huysegems and Wellenberg to the bench. The only change manager McClaren is forced to make concerns the most forward position. Star forward N'Kufo is suspended and won't return until the next European match. Arnautovic has recovered in time from an injury he picked up with the Austrian U21 squad and will be N'Kufo's most likely replacement. Also recovered from injury is first goalie Boschker who played the whole match again last weekend. He is an important player in the relatively unexperienced Twente side. Not many players have had much experience playing on the European stage. Also important will be Perez, the newly hired midfielder has a lot of UEFA Cup experience with AZ and Ajax and he will have to take Twente by the hand. The team really enjoyed playing Arsenal over two matches and they even put up a really good fight at home. Though they could accept losing on aggregate they will now be fully motivated to prove their worth in the UEFA Cup.