St-Étienne v Qarabağ background
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Article summary
AS Saint-Étienne are second in Group F despite having yet to win a game in this season's group stage, while Qarabağ FK are eager for a second successive away success.
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Article body
AS Saint-Étienne could do with getting a first Group F win on the board as they welcome Qarabağ FK on UEFA Europa League matchday five.
Form guide
• Qarabağ held St-Étienne to a 0-0 draw on matchday one but have yet to score against French opponents in three games.
• In the nations' only encounters at senior level, France beat Azerbaijan 2-0 away and 10-0 at home in EURO '96 qualifying. Azerbaijan's only victory against France in a men's UEFA competition was a 2-0 success in the 2005 UEFA European Under-17 Championship elite round. Their other three age-group meetings ended in French wins.
• St-Étienne have drawn all four of their group stage games, and had not scored or conceded in Group F until they drew 1-1 with FC Internazionale Milano on matchday four.
• Qarabağ earned the first UEFA group stage victory by an Azerbaijani side – home or away – when they beat FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in Kyiv on matchday three.
Trivia and links
• Qarabağ's Brazilian midfielder Richard Almeida is one of the three most fouled players in the group stage; he, Alexander Büttner (FC Dinamo Moskva) and Bruno Gama (FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk) were infringed against 15 times each over the first four matchdays.
• Qarabağ are only the second Azeri side to feature in a UEFA club competition group stage. Neftçi PFK were the pioneers, in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League group stage, recording three draws and three defeats.
The coaches
• A defender for hometown club Olympique de Marseille, LOSC Lille and Toulouse FC among others, St-Étienne boss Christophe Galtier took up his current position in 2009, helping Les Verts to win the 2012/13 French League Cup. He had previously assisted Alain Perrin and Richard Tardy, working in England and Greece as well as France.
• Qarabağ coach Gurban Gurbanov is Azerbaijan's all-time top scorer at international level with 14 goals. He played in Russia but enjoyed perhaps his most celebrated years with Neftçi, where he later started out as a coach. In charge at Qarabağ since 2008, he led the club to their second title – after a 21-year wait – last season.
