Group G pacesetters face off
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Article summary
Fresh from a 2-1 win at S.S. Lazio on Matchday 1, FC Salzburg will look to cause a second Group G upset when Villarreal CF – 1-0 winners against PFC Levski Sofia last time out – come to Mozart's birthplace.
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Fresh from a 2-1 victory at S.S. Lazio on Matchday 1, FC Salzburg will be out to cause a second UEFA Europa League Group G upset when Villarreal CF – 1-0 winners against PFC Levski Sofia last time out – come to Mozart's birthplace.
Previous meetings
• The clubs have never met, and this is Villarreal's first encounter with Austrian opposition. Salzburg have lost five of their six games against Spanish sides, their solitary success a 1-0 home win against Valencia CF in the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.
Match background
• This is Salzburg's first appearance in any group phase since they competed in the 1994/95 UEFA Champions League, finishing third in their section. Villarreal played in two UEFA Cup group stages, reaching the quarter-finals in 2004/05 and the round of 32 in 2007/08.
• Salzburg have not won at home in five European games since a 7-0 demolition of FC Banants in last season's UEFA Cup first qualifying round (17/07/08).
• Villarreal never lost a UEFA Cup group stage away fixture. They drew both of their 2004/05 ties 1-1 and won their two 2007/08 games 2-1.
Team facts
• Salzburg are coached by former Netherlands defender Huub Stevens, who won the UEFA Cup as FC Schalke 04 coach in 1997. Salzburg are the third club in as many seasons for Stevens, who spent the last two campaigns in charge of Hamburger SV and then PSV Eindhoven.
• Stevens' record in ten previous matches as a coach against Spanish clubs is W3 D2 L5. His showing in four games against Liga opponents as a player reads W2 D1 L1.
• Having won the Greek title with Olympiacos FC last season, Ernesto Valverde took over at Villarreal this summer after his predecessor, Manuel Pellegrini, became Real Madrid CF boss. The former RCD Espanyol, FC Barcelona and Athletic Club Bilbao winger was nicknamed 'Txinguirri' (The Ant in Basque) for his modest stature and prodigious work-rate.
• Valverde lost UEFA Cup finals on penalties as both a player and a coach with RCD Espanyol – in 1988 (v Bayer 04 Leverkusen) and 2007 (v Sevilla FC).
• Salzburg host Levski on Matchday 3, while Villarreal will visit Lazio on the same night, 22 October.