Larsson enjoys Dutch homecoming

Helsingborgs IF striker Henrik Larsson has admitted it is "good to be back" in the Netherlands where his side face PSV Eindhoven in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 on Wednesday.

Feyenoord memories
Larsson had four successful seasons with Feyenoord between 1993 and 1997 and keeps close ties to the country. He was on the phone to former Feyenoord team-mate Giovanni van Bronckhorst when he touched down in Eindhoven, although PSV were not up for discussion. Larsson knows enough about Dutch football already.

Top scorer
The 36-year-old scored in Helsingborg's 5-3 defeat at SC Heerenveen in the UEFA Cup first round in September, which paved the way for a remarkable 8-6 aggregate triumph. Certainly, the former Celtic FC, FC Barcelona and Manchester United FC forward has retained his scoring touch: he is the UEFA Cup's joint leading marksman this term with six goals.

'Do our best'
Having signed a new one-year contract last month, covering the 2008 Swedish season, Larsson continues to relish the big occasion. "It's good to be back [in the Netherlands] – I still get a feeling of coming home," he said. "Of course, we were here recently when we played Heerenveen. We have watched PSV a bit on video and I know they are a very good team with a lot of good players. It will be tough for us, but we'll do our best.

PSV focus
"I think it will be more difficult than against Heerenveen, partly because I don't think PSV will underestimate us the way Heerenveen seemed to. We know how we're going to play, we'll just have to see how PSV approach the game. We have to play to our strengths while obviously adapting slightly to take the opposition into consideration."

Swedish break
Since the last Swedish season ended in October, Helsingborg's only competitive games have come in the UEFA Cup – they finished second in Group H. Larsson, though, would not say how much of a disadvantage this could be against the Eredivisie leaders. "It is what it is," he said. "We have played a couple of practice matches, but there's not really much else we can do. You could say we should be fresher because PSV are in the middle of their league campaign, but I don't think there's much point speculating."