Zulte Waregem v Vitesse background

There is not much to separate Zulte Waregem and Vitesse as they come together in UEFA Europa League Group K, both having had a tough start in the section.

Previous meetings
• The sides are meeting for the first time.

• Zulte Waregem have lost all three of their previous games against Dutch teams without scoring a single goal – including a pair of 3-0 home defeats, by Ajax in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup group stage and by PSV in the third qualifying round of the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League.

• Vitesse won their only two past UEFA matches against Belgian sides without conceding: 1-0 home and away against Mechelen in the 1992/93 UEFA Cup second round.

Form guide
• Both clubs lost their opening two Group K games.

• The 5-1 reverse to Nice on matchday one was Zulte Waregem's heaviest home defeat in UEFA competition. They are without a win in four UEFA matches (D1 L3).

• Vitesse have not won in their last seven European away games (D3 L4) – a run stretching back over 15 years to a 1-0 victory at Rapid Bucureşti in October 2002.

• Zulte Waregem claimed their second Belgian Cup in 2016/17; they made it through the UEFA Cup group stage in 2006/07, but could not emulate that success in the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League.

• Fifth in the Netherlands last term, Arnhem-based Vitesse are featuring in the group stage of a UEFA competition for the first time having won the Dutch Cup, their maiden major trophy.

Trivia and links
• The journey from Arnhem to Waregem is around 200km, making this the shortest trip of any competitor on matchday three.

• Zulte Waregem midfielder Onur Kaya came through the youth ranks at Vitesse and was a first-team player from 2005–10.

• Vitesse defenders Alexander Büttner (2016) and Arnold Kruiswijk (2008–10) played in Belgium with Anderlecht.

• Zulte Waregem's Timothy Derijck also has extensive Dutch experience (Feyenoord 2005–09, NAC Breda 2006, Den Haag 2009–11 and 2014–16, PSV Eindhoven 2011–14, Utrecht 2013–14).

• Misses next match if booked: Aaron Leya Iseka (Zulte Waregem).

The coaches
• Francky Dury's second coming as Zulte Waregem coach began in 2012, and he led them to a second Belgian Cup success last season. Zultse and – post-merger – Zulte Waregem boss from 1994–2010, he occupied the Gent and Belgium Under-21 helms prior to his return.

• Vitesse coach since 2016, leading them to their historic Dutch Cup triumph last season, Surinam-born Henk Fraser was capped seven times by the Netherlands as a defender, spending the bulk of his playing career at Feyenoord, where he was later a youth coach. He took his first senior job at Den Haag from 2014–16.