Pitch no fear for Everton

Everton boss Roberto Martinez has stressed his confidence that his players are ready for the challenge of facing Young Boys on the Swiss side’s artificial pitch.

In preparation for tonight’s Europa League last-32 first leg (kick-off 6pm, live on Setanta Ireland, ITV4), the Toffees have this week been training on a similar surface used by Everton Ladies and the Widnes Vikings rugby league team.

Young Boys have won all five of their European games at their Stade de Suisse home this term, including a 2-0 victory over Napoli. And asked during his pre-match press conference at the stadium if he was worried about the pitch there, Martinez said: “It is a completely different surface and the bounce of the ball is different. But from our point of view, we have done our preparation right and we’re ready.”