Thursday, August 25, 2011

2011/12 Europa League Playoff Round - Second Leg


Stoke City v FC Thun
The Potters have won all three European games 1-0 so far this season.
Stoke have won four of their previous seven European games, losing just one of them.
FC Thun have now lost all three previous European games against English sides, twice against Arsenal and once against Stoke.
The Swiss side have only won one of their five European games this season.
Stoke have scored exactly one goal in all three away games in all competitions this term, conceding just one goal in total.
Thun are unbeaten on their travels in all competitions this term, winning two and drawing three.

Dnipro v Fulham
Fulham have faced Ukrainian opposition once before in European competition, beating Shakhtar Donetsk 3-2 on aggregate in the Round of 32 in 2009/10.
Dnipro have faced English opposition twice before in Europe, losing both games 0-3.
The Ukrainians lost at this stage of the competition last season after a 0-1 aggregate defeat to Polish side Lech Poznan.
The away side has failed to score in eight of Fulham's nine games this season in all competitions.
Fulham have already netted 15 goals in the competition this season and have conceded just one.
Only two teams (Aalesund and Dinamo Tbilisi (17)) have scored more goals in the competition this season than the Cottagers (15).

FC Sion v Celtic
Celtic have played 17 games against Swiss opposition in Europe, winning nine of them.
Celtic are winless in six trips to Switzerland in European competition, not picking up a victory since a 3-0 win in Zurich in 1966/67.
The Swiss side have faced Scottish opposition five times in Europe, losing three and winning one - with four of the five games coming against Aberdeen.
Celtic have only lost one of their last 10 away games in all competitions.
The Bhoys have kept clean sheets in each of their last four away games, winning all four of them.
Sion have netted exactly one goal in each of their three home games this term, with all three goals coming in the 64th minute or later.

Rangers v NK Maribor
These sides have met once before in European competition. In 2001/02, Rangers beat Maribor 3-0 away and 3-1 at home in a Champions League qualifier, though Maribor did extract some revenge in the first leg of this tie, beating Ally McCoist's side 2-1.
Since reaching the final of this competition in 2008, the Gers have won just one of 21 European fixtures.
Maribor have lost at this stage of the competition in both of the last two seasons.
Last season, the Violets beat Hibernian 6-2 on aggregate in a Europa League qualifier.
Maribor's last nine European games have seen a total of 30 goals netted; an average of over three per game.
Rangers have only lost one of their last twelve home games in the Europa League; a 0-1 defeat to PSV in March.

Birmingham v Nacional
This season, Birmingham City are making their first appearance in Europe since 1961/62.
The Blues have won 10 and drawn two of their 12 previous European home games, though their last game was a 1-0 victory over Espanyol in 1961/62.
Nacional have failed to win any of their eight previous European away games.
The Portuguese side have drawn both of their last two games in all competitions 0-0.
The Blues have only managed one win in their four games this season so far, losing two of them.
Birmingham have only failed to score in one of their last 14 games at St Andrews in all competitions.

Tottenham v Hearts
Tottenham are unbeaten in five clashes with Scottish opposition in Europe (inc. qualifiers), winning four of them.
In five meetings with Scottish opposition, Spurs have scored 18 goals and conceded six.
Hearts' 0-5 defeat at home to Tottenham in the first leg of this contest was their first ever game against English opposition in Europe.
Tottenham scored five goals from just eight shots on target in the first leg between these sides.
The Jam Tarts are winless in 11 games on the road in all competitions.
The North London side had five different goalscorers in their 5-0 victory at Tynecastle last week.