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Europa League round of 32: meet your opponents

Introducing this season's last 32 – how well do you know your team's opponent?

Joseph Aidoo takes a look at Genk's potential opponents
Joseph Aidoo takes a look at Genk's potential opponents ©AFP
  • Seeded teams, on the right of each fixture, are at home in the second legs.
  • Matches take place on 14 and 21 February except:
    first leg of Fenerbahçe v Zenit on Tuesday 12 February at 18:55CET;
    second leg of Sevilla v Lazio on Wednesday 20 February at 18:00CET.

Lazio v Sevilla

Highlights: Marseille 1-3 Lazio

Lazio (ITA)
UEFA ranking
:
39
Domestic position: 5
Group stage: W3 D0 L3 F9 A11
Last season: UEFA Europa League quarter-finals (lost 6-5 v Salzburg)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: runners-up (1997/98)
Did you know?: Lazio's colours were taken from the Greek flag, in honour to the nation's Olympic tradition, while the Eagle on their badge is a nod to Greek god Zeus.

Sevilla (ESP)
UEFA ranking
:
8
Domestic position: 2
Group stage: W4 D0 L2 F18 A6
Last season: UEFA Champions League quarter-finals (lost 2-1 v Bayern München)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: winners (2015/16*, 2014/15, 2013/14, 2006/07, 2005/06)
Did you know?: Sevilla were formed by a group of Scottish and Spanish men after celebrating Burns Night in Seville in 1890. The club won their only Spanish title in 1945/46 but have won the #UEL/UEFA Cup five times since 2006.

BATE Borisov v Arsenal

Highlights: PAOK 1-3 BATE

BATE Borisov (BLR)
UEFA ranking
:
57
Domestic position: 1 (summer season)
Group stage: W3 D0 L3 F9 A9
Last season: UEFA Europa League group stage
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: round of 32 (2018/19, 2012/13*, 2010/11)
Did you know?: BATE stands for Borisov Automobile and Tractor Electronics and the club have won the last 13 Belarusian titles. They are the only team from Belarus to have reached the #UCL group stage (five times).

Arsenal (ENG)
UEFA ranking
:
10
Domestic position:
6
Group stage:
W5 D1 L0 F12 A2
Last season:
UEFA Europa League semi-finals (lost 2-1 v Atlético Madrid)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best:
runners-up (1999/2000*)
Did you know?: Arsenal have played top-flight football since 1919/20 – the longest unbroken streak of any club in England. Last season was their first in the #UEL – they had played in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League in each of the previous 17 campaigns.

Malmö v Chelsea

Highlights: Malmö 2-0 Beşiktaş

Malmö (SWE)
UEFA ranking: 72
Domestic position: 3 (summer season)
Group stage: W2 D3 L1 F7 A6
Last season: UEFA Champions League second qualifying round (lost 4-2 v Vardar)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: round of 32 (2018/19)
Did you know?: Malmö have won a record 23 titles in Sweden, and are the only Nordic side to have reached the European Cup final, losing 1-0 to Nottingham Forest in 1979.

2013 final highlights

Chelsea (ENG)
UEFA ranking
:
18
Domestic position: 4
Group stage: W5 D1 L0 F12 A3
Last season: UEFA Champions League round of 16 (lost 4-1 v Barcelona)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: winners (2012/13*)
Did you know?: The club's first crest was an image of a Chelsea pensioner, one of the army veterans who reside at the nearby Royal Hospital Chelsea, hence their original nickname 'The Pensioners'.

Fenerbahçe v Zenit

Highlights: Fenerbahçe 2-0 Anderlecht

Fenerbahçe (TUR)
UEFA ranking
:
47
Domestic position: 17
Group stage: W2 D2 L2 F7 A7
Last season: UEFA Europa League play-offs (lost 4-1 v Vardar)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: semi-finals (2012/13)
Did you know?: Fenerbahçe translates from Turkish as "lighthouse garden" (fener = lighthouse, bahçe = garden), and refers to a historic lighthouse located at Fenerbahçe Cape in Istanbul.

2008 final: Zenit overcome Rangers

Zenit (RUS)
UEFA ranking: 17
Domestic position: 1
Group stage: W3 D2 L1 F6 A5
Last season: UEFA Europa League round of 16 (lost 3-2 v RB Leipzig)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: winners (2007/08)
Did you know?: Once a club representing a local munitions factory, Zenit translates as 'the pinnacle'; the club was formed with the merger of two other local sides with evocative Soviet names: 'Bolshevik' and 'Stalinets'.

Galatasaray v Benfica

Galatasaray's 2000 surprise

Galatasaray (TUR)*
UEFA ranking
:
70
Domestic position: 5
Group stage: W1 D1 L4 F5 A8
Last season: UEFA Europa League second qualifying round (lost 3-1 v Östersunds)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: winners (1999/2000)
Did you know?: Galatasaray was founded by Ali Sami Yen and other students of Galatasaray High School in 1905 and the club has won a record 21 Turkish titles – a fourth star was added to their badge when they claimed their 20th in 2014/15.

Benfica (POR)*
UEFA ranking:
26
Domestic position: 4
Group stage: W2 D1 L3 F6 A11
Last season: UEFA Champions League group stage
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: runners-up (2013/14*, 2012/13*, 1982/83)
Did you know?: One of three clubs never to have been relegated from the Portuguese top flight, Benfica have won the title a record 36 times. The club's badge features a bicycle wheel as well as a football, since cycling was a major department in the club early on.

Rapid Wien v Internazionale

Highlights: Rapid Wien 2-0 Spartak Moskva

Rapid Wien (AUT)
UEFA ranking
:
63
Domestic position: 8
Group stage: W3 D1 L2 F6 A9
Last season:
not in Europe
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: round of 32 (2015/16)
Did you know?: Austrian champions a record 32 times, Rapid have not won the Bundesliga since 2008. Since the 1910s, Rapid fans have heralded the last 15 minutes of matches with a burst of rhythmic clapping – 'the Rapidviertelstunde' (Rapid 15 minutes).

Internazionale Milano (ITA)*
UEFA ranking
:
55
Domestic position: 3
Group stage: W2 D2 L2 F6 A7
Last season: not in Europe
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: winners (1990/91, 1993/94, 1997/98)
Did you know?: Internazionale are the only team that have played Serie A football in every season since the league began in 1929/30.

Club Brugge v Salzburg

Highlights: Monaco 0-4 Club Brugge

Club Brugge (BEL)*
UEFA ranking:
38
Domestic position: 2
Group stage: W1 D3 L2 F6 A5
Last season: UEFA Europa League play-offs (lost 3-0 v AEK Athens)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: runners-up (1975/76)
Did you know?: The 15-time domestic champions were UEFA Cup finalists in 1976 and became the only Belgian side to make the European Cup final in 1978; they lost both deciders to Liverpool.

Salzburg (AUT)
UEFA ranking: 30
Domestic position: 1
Group stage: W6 D0 L0 F17 A6
Last season: UEFA Europa League semi-finals (lost 3-2 v Marseille)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: runners-up (1993/94)
Did you know?: Salzburg have won the Austrian title 12 times – all of them since the 1993/94 season. They are the only side to have won all six of their #UEL group games in three seperate seasons.

Slavia Praha v Genk

Highlights: Slavia Praha 2-0 Zenit

Slavia Praha (CZE)
UEFA ranking: 90
Domestic position: 1
Group stage: W3 D1 L2 F4 A3
Last season: UEFA Europa League group stage
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: semi-finals (1995/96)
Did you know?: Slavia Praha were founded in 1892 by medicine students to increase sporting activity among them while their colours stand for the heart and blood (red), and fair play and sportsmanship (white).

Genk (BEL)
ranking
:
61
Domestic position: 1
Group stage: W3 D2 L1 F14 A8
Last season: not in Europe
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: quarter-finals (2016/17)
Did you know?: Genk are often referred as 'The Smurfs' due to the similarity between their blue-and-white kit and the colours of the characters in a popular Belgian cartoon.

Krasnodar v Leverkusen

Highlights: Krasnodar 2-1 Sevilla

Krasnodar (RUS)
UEFA ranking
:
42
Domestic position: 2
Group stage: W4 D0 L2 F8 A8
Last season: UEFA Europa League play-offs (lost on away goals v Crvena zvezda)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: round of 16 (2016/17)
Did you know?: Founded only ten years ago, Krasnodar are in their fifth season in the #UEL and they have been knocked out at a different stage every time – play-offs, group stage, round of 32 and round of 16.

1988: Leverkusen's incredible comeback

Leverkusen (GER)
UEFA ranking
:
28
Domestic position: 11
Group stage: W4 D1 L1 F16 A9
Last season: not in Europe
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: winners (1987/88)
Did you know?: Leverkusen were founded in 1904 by employees of the German pharmaceutical company Bayer, whose headquarters are in Leverkusen; as a result, they are known as Die Werkself (the factory team).

Zürich v Napoli

Highlights: Zürich 3-2 Leverkusen

Zürich (SUI)
UEFA ranking
:
78
Domestic position: 4
Group stage: W3 D1 L2 F7 A6
Last season: not in Europe
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: round of 16 (1998/99, 1982/83)
Did you know?: Zürich were formed in 1896 by ex-members of the three local clubs, including Barcelona founder Joan Gamper.

Napoli's Maradona-fuelled win

Napoli (ITA)*
UEFA ranking
:
16
Domestic position: 2
Group stage: W2 D3 L1 F7 A5
Last season:
UEFA Europa League round of 32* (lost on away goals v RB Leipzig)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: winners (1988/89)
Did you know?: Napoli were originally founded as Naples Foot-Ball & Cricket Club in 1904 by English sailor William Poths and his associate Hector M. Bayon.

PICK YOUR TEAM OF THE YEAR

Shakhtar v Frankfurt

Shakhtar's 2009 triumph

Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)*
UEFA ranking:
13
Domestic position: 1
Group stage: W1 D3 L2 F8 A16
Last season: UEFA Champions League round of 16 (lost on away goals v Roma)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: winners (2008/09*)
Did you know?: Shakhtar have been crowned champions in Ukraine 11 times since the start of this century and are well-placed for a third straight title this season. The 2009 #UEL winners have reached the last 32 of this competition nine times on the trot.

Eintracht Frankfurt (GER)
UEFA ranking: 97
Domestic position: 5
Group stage: W6 D0 L0 F17 A5
Last season: not in Europe
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: winners (1979/80)
Did you know?: Eintracht's unusual nickname Launische Diva ("Moody Diva") was heard most often in the early 1990s when the club regularly overcame top teams only to suffer surprising defeats to lower clubs.

Celtic v Valencia

Highlights: Celtic 2-1 Leipzig

Celtic (SCO)
UEFA ranking
:
44
Domestic position: 3
Group stage: W3 D0 L3 F6 A8
Last season: UEFA Europa League round of 32* (lost 3-1 v Zenit)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: runners-up (2002/03)
Did you know?: Celtic have won 49 Scottish titles, including the last seven. They have however failed to progress from their last six knockout-round ties in European competition since seeing off Barcelona in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup in 2003/04.

Valencia (ESP)*
UEFA ranking:
60
Domestic position: 14
Group stage: W2 D2 L2 F6 A6
Last season: not in Europe
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: winners (2003/04)
Did you know?: The bat on top of Valencia's badge dates back to 1238. Legend has it that a bat landed on top of James I's flag as he was about to conquer the city – he interpreted it as a positive sign and added it to the city's coat of arms.

Rennes v Real Betis

See Ismaïla Sarr's stunner against Astana

Rennes (FRA)
UEFA ranking
:
112
Domestic position: 11
Group stage: W3 D0 L3 F7 A8
Last season: not in Europe
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: round of 32 (2018/19)
Did you know?: Rennes have finished in the top half of the Ligue 1 standings eight times in the last ten seasons. They are playing in their fifth #UEL/UEFA Cup campaign but this is the first time they have made it past the group stage.

Real Betis (ESP)
UEFA ranking
:
73
Domestic position: 5
Group stage: W3 D3 L0 F7 A2
Last season: not in Europe
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: round of 16 (2013/14, 2005/06*, 1998/99, 1995/96)
Did you know?: The name 'Betis' is derived from 'Baetis', the Roman name for the River Guadalquivir which passes through Seville, which the surrounding Roman province was named after.

Olympiacos v Dynamo Kyiv

Highlights: Olympiacos 3-1 Milan

Olympiacos (GRE)
UEFA ranking: 35
Domestic position: 2
Group stage: W3 D1 L2 F11 A6
Last season: UEFA Champions League group stage
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: round of 16 (2016/17, 2011/12*, 2004/05*, 1989/90)
Did you know?: The laurel-crowned youth on Olympiacos's badge is a representation of a classical Olympic Games winner. Their club colours were chosen to represent passion and victory (red) and virtue and purity (white).

Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)
UEFA ranking
:
21
Domestic position: 4
Group stage: W3 D2 L1 F10 A7
Last season: UEFA Europa League round of 16 (lost 4-2 v Lazio)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: semi-finals (2008/09*)
Did you know?: Dynamo put a gold star at the top of their logo in 2003 to denote their 10th domestic trophy with a second added in 2007 as part of their 80-year anniversary celebrations.

Viktoria Plzeň v Dinamo Zagreb

Highlights: Plzeň 2-1 Roma

Viktoria Plzeň (CZE)*
UEFA ranking:
43
Domestic position: 2
Group stage: W2 D1 L3 F7 A16
Last season: UEFA Europa League round of 16 (lost 3-2aet v Sporting CP)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: round of 16 (2017/18, 2013/14*, 2012/13)
Did you know?: Viktoria Plzeň were formed in 1911 when an official of the state railways, Jaroslav Ausobský, filed a request to establish a new club in the city but their first Czech title did not arrive until exactly 100 years later.

Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
UEFA ranking: 56
Domestic position: 4
Group stage: W4 D2 L0 F11 A3
Last season: UEFA Europa League play-offs (lost on away goals v Skënderbeu)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: round of 16 (1997/98)
Did you know?: Dinamo Zagreb have won a record 19 Croatian titles and qualified from a UEFA group stage for the first time this season after falling at that stage in their last 13 attempts. 

Sporting CP v Villarreal

Highlights: Qarabağ 1-6 Sporting CP

Sporting CP (POR)
UEFA ranking
:
31
Domestic position: 2
Group stage: W4 D1 L1 F13 A3
Last season: UEFA Europa League quarter-finals* (lost 2-1 v Atlético Madrid)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: runners-up (2004/05)
Did you know?: The 18-time Portuguese champions are in contention for their first domestic title since 2002. Since the inception of the #UEL, they have been knocked out in the group stage, round of 32, round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-final but are yet to reach the showpiece.

Villarreal (ESP)
UEFA ranking: 27
Domestic position: 17
Group stage: W2 D4 L0 F12 A5
Last season: UEFA Europa League round of 32 (lost 4-1 v Lyon)
Previous UEFA Cup/Europa League best: semi-finals (2015/16, 2010/11, 2003/04)
Did you know?: Villarreal's famous yellow colours date back to 1947 when the club president replaced their kit with one from a shop in Valencia, who had no stock of their previous white shirts and black shorts, then travelled to Castellon and purchased white shorts which were dyed blue.

* Via UEFA Champions League group stage