Advantage Atlético in fight for third place

The places in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds are beyond the reach of both APOEL FC and Club Atlético de Madrid but there is still much to play for as the teams meet in Nicosia with a ticket to the UEFA Europa League at stake.

• Atlético will hope that a hitherto disappointing Group D campaign will flare belatedly into life over their remaining two games to maintain their slender lead over the Cyprus club. They regained some confidence in a 2-2 draw with Chelsea FC on Matchday 4. Sergio Agüero's second goal of the game, a fine free-kick in added time, earned the Spanish side, under new coach Quique Sánchez Flores, only their second point of the campaign.

• On the same night APOEL lost for the second time at home, succumbing to Falcao's strike as FC Porto completed home-and-away victories against the Cypriot champions. It left APOEL at the foot of the table with just a single point, obtained against Atlético in Spain on Matchday 1.

Previous meetings
• It was a solid start for APOEL in their debut UEFA Champions League campaign as Ivan Jovanović's side produced a disciplined defensive display at the Vicente Calderón to earn an unexpected 0-0 draw, although Diego Forlán went close in the final moments, striking the crossbar with a thunderous effort from 25 metres.

• That game was Atlético's first against a team from Cyprus in a competitive fixture while APOEL had previously played six games against Spanish opposition, drawing two and losing four.

• Their worst defeat was an 8-0 reverse at RC Deportivo La Coruña in the 1995/96 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup first round second leg. The home leg ended goaless while a 2-2 draw was the outcome when APOEL played host to RCD Espanyol in the 1996/97 UEFA Cup first round.

• Their other home game, a first round UEFA Cup tie in 2003/04, ended in a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of RCD Mallorca with a 4-2 victory for the Spanish side in the return. Marinos Satsias, Constantinos Charalambides and Michalis Morfis were all involved in those games.

Match background
• After three wins and four draws in their first seven away games in the UEFA Champions League proper, Atlético have encountered contrasting form on their travels this season. They lost 2-0 at Porto on Matchday 2 and 4-0 at Chelsea three weeks later.

• APOEL have lost both their home games in the section but in qualifying they won all three of their matches in Cyprus, defeating EB/Streymur (3-0), FK Partizan (2-0) and FC København (3-1).

• This season's home results follow the trend set by APOEL in previous European campaigns. In the UEFA Cups of 2000/01, 2003/04, 2005/06 and 2008/09, home defeats in the first round contributed to their eliminations. They did defeat Grazer AK 2-0 in the 2002/03 UEFA Cup first round first leg, winning 3-1 on aggregate, but in the next stage lost 1-0 at home to Hertha BSC Berlin and bowed out 4-0 overall.

• Only two Spanish sides have ever lost in Cyprus. The national team suffered a surprise 3-2 defeat there in a UEFA EURO 2000™ qualifier in Larnaca while Athletic Club Bilbao went down 2-0 at Anorthosis Famagusta FC in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup first round.

Team ties
• Atlético's Tomáš Ujfaluši played for the Czech Republic against Cyprus in a 4-3 friendly win on 13 February 2002 at Nicosia's GSP Stadium. He was also involved in a 1-0 Czech victory against Cyprus in Liberec in a UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifier on 28 March 2007.

• Simão came on as an 80th-minute substitute in Portugal's 3-1 win against Cyprus in a FIFA World Cup qualifier on 5 October 2001 at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, Larnaca.

• Diego Forlán played at APOEL's GSP Stadium for Manchester United FC during the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League when the ground was being used by Israeli side Maccabi Haifa FC. Forlán's team lost 3-0.

• Four members of the APOEL squad have previously played in Spain: Adrian Sikora (Real Murcia CF 2008/09), Kamil Kosowski (Cádiz CF 2008/09), Hélio Pinto (Sevilla FC B 2004/05) and Nenad Mirosavljević (Cádiz CF, 2004 to 2006).