Paris v APOEL background

Paris Saint-Germain will look to take a big step towards the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds when they host APOEL FC on matchday four.

• The Ligue 1 side's 1-0 victory at APOEL last time out kept them top of Group E and another victory would guarantee qualification should AFC Ajax fail to beat FC Barcelona in Amsterdam.

Previous meetings
• Paris defeated APOEL 3-0 on aggregate when the clubs met in the 1993/94 European Cup Winners' Cup first round. They prevailed 1-0 in Nicosia – where Constantinos Fasouliotis had a penalty saved by Bernard Lama in the final minute – and won the return leg 2-0 at Parc des Princes.

• The lineups in Paris on 28 September 1993 were:
Paris: Lama, Sassus, Roche, Ricardo, Colleter, Le Guen, Fournier (Bravo 46), Raí (Cobos 60), Valdo, Gravelaine, Ginola.
APOEL: Petridis, Cleanthous, Kudinov, Magnitis (Miamiliotis 78), Kosta, Hadjiloucas, Nwakanma, Mihailović, Fasouliotis, Sotiriou, Ioannou (Ppounas 46).

Match background

Paris
• With their 3-2 victory over Barcelona on matchday two, the French champions made it 30 matches unbeaten at home in UEFA competition (20 wins, ten draws). This run dates back to a 4-2 loss to Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC in the UEFA Cup group stage in November 2006.

• Laurent Blanc's men have won their last four UEFA Champions League home games and are 11 matches unbeaten on their own turf in the competition, since a 3-1 loss to PFC CSKA Moskva in December 2004.

APOEL
• Bottom-placed APOEL's only point from three games so far came from their 1-1 home draw with Ajax.

• The Cypriot club are still seeking a first away victory in the UEFA Champions League proper; their record from nine matches is W0 D5 L4.

• In Europe this season, APOEL drew at HJK Helsinki (2-2) and Aalborg BK (1-1) in the qualifying rounds, then lost 1-0 at Barcelona.

• APOEL lost on both their previous visits to France. They went down 1-0 at Olympique Lyonnais in the first leg of their 2011/12 UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie – eventually winning 4-3 on penalties after a 1-0 second-leg success – and fell 2-1 at FC Girondins de Bordeaux in last term's UEFA Europa League group stage.

Coach and player links
• Blanc struck his first goal for France in a 2-0 FIFA World Cup qualifying victory over Cyprus in Toulouse in November 1989.

• He encountered Cypriot club opposition as a player with Barcelona, beating AEK Larnaca FC 2-0 at home and drawing 0-0 away in the 1996/97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup first round.

• Giorgos Donis faced French opponents once as a player, appearing for Panathinaikos FC in a 3-1 home success over FC Nantes in the 1995/96 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Zlatan Ibrahimović hit his first European goal in Ajax's UEFA Cup first-round victory over Apollon Limassol FC in 2001/02. He got the opener in Ajax's 2-0 home win and struck again in their 3-0 away triumph.

• In the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League group stage, Ibrahimović tackled Anorthosis Famagusta FC with FC Internazionale Milano, playing in their 1-0 home victory and 3-3 away draw.

• Maxwell played alongside Ibrahimović in both those matches in Cyprus, featuring as a substitute both times.

• French-born Rafik Djebbour began his career in AJ Auxerre's youth ranks. In the 2007/08 UEFA Cup he scored for Panionios GSS on his European debut in a 2-1 first-round win at FC Sochaux-Montbéliard and was also on target against Bordeaux (2-3 h) in the group stage.

• With Olympiacos FC in the UEFA Champions League, Djebbour maintained his 100% record on French soil with victories at Olympique de Marseille (1-0, 2011/12 group stage) and Montpellier Hérault SC (2-1, 2012/13 group stage).

• APOEL's Carlão made 128 league outings for Sochaux (2008–14), suffering a 5-0 defeat by Paris at the Parc des Princes last December.

• With Liverpool FC and AS Roma, John Arne Riise figured in European ties against Auxerre, Bordeaux and Marseille and has a record of seven wins and one defeat from eight games.

• Riise played 44 league matches for AS Monaco FC (1998–2001), scoring four goals.

Match facts

Paris
• Paris are 16 games unbeaten in 2014/15, including victory in the French Super Cup.

• Maxwell and David Luiz were rested on Saturday, while Blaise Matuidi and Marco Verratti came off the bench, as Paris recovered from behind to defeat FC Lorient 2-1. Marquinhos, who had not played since matchday two because of a thigh injury, made his return.

• Lucas converted two penalties in a 3-0 win against Bordeaux on 25 October, taking his tally of league goals for the campaign to five – as many as he scored last term.

• Making his first appearance for a month following a hamstring injury, Ezequiel Lavezzi completed the scoring versus Bordeaux.

• The capital club have won their last four matches, their best run of form since posting 11 successive victories between 14 February and 5 April.

• On 31 October, Adrien Rabiot, yet to play this season, extended his contract until June 2019.

• Ibrahimović was Ligue 1 top scorer in each of the last two seasons, registering 56 times in 67 appearances in all. He has five in as many top-flight outings this term.

• The Sweden captain has not played since 21 September because of a left heel problem.

• George Weah is Paris' club record scorer in the UEFA Champions League with 15 goals. Ibrahimović has 13 for the club.

• Ibrahimović is among the 23 players nominated for the 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or. A three-man shortlist will be announced on 1 December, with the winner revealed on 12 January.

APOEL
• APOEL lead the Cypriot First Division with 22 points from eight games. At the same stage last season they were nine points worse off.

• Two goals from Cillian Sheridan, his first since 13 September, set APOEL en route to a 4-0 success at Ethnikos Achnas FC on Saturday – their joint biggest win of the season.

• Having scored the decisive goal in a 2-1 victory at Othellos Athienou FC ahead of matchday three, Djebbour was on target as APOEL beat Nea Salamis Famagusta FC 1-0 on 27 October.

• The matchday three loss to Paris is Donis's team's only defeat in their last eight outings.

• APOEL have conceded just two goals in eight home fixtures this term.