Ferencváros coach Balázs Borbély expects Mohamed Salah to play in a different position when Trabzonspor visit Budapest on Thursday.
Borbély made the prediction after analysing Trabzonspor’s first-leg performance and their weekend victory over İstanbul Başakşehir.
“We know Salah will play in a different position than in Turkey,” Borbély said at Wednesday’s press conference. “We have to be better than we were there.”
Salah played in his normal position up the right flank when Trabzonspor lost the opening leg at Papara Park. Kristoffer Zachariassen headed Ferencváros ahead in the 17th minute before the Hungarian side protected their advantage despite sustained second-half pressure.
Chibuike Nwaiwu received a red card in stoppage time and will miss the return leg through suspension.
Borbély believes Thursday’s match will resemble the second half in Trabzon, when the hosts pushed forward and forced Ferencváros into a more defensive approach. His assessment also followed Salah’s decisive performance against Başakşehir. The Egypt captain scored twice in a 2-1 win on Sunday, giving Trabzonspor their first victory of the season.
Earlier in the week, Salah opened the scoring in the eighth minute before restoring Trabzonspor’s lead three minutes after half-time. He also had two stoppage-time goals disallowed.
Borbély said tactics alone would not be enough against players of Salah’s quality. He wants his team to show confidence in possession, remain compact without the ball and compete strongly in individual duels.
“Defending the 1-0 is not our objective,” Borbély said. “We want to play our own game.”
The Hungarian side have also prepared for the possibility of a penalty shootout. Borbély said his players have practised penalties since the start of pre-season.
The second leg takes place at the Groupama Arena on Thursday, August 27, at 9:30 pm Cairo time. The winners will qualify for the Europa League league phase. The losing side will enter the Conference League league phase.