Everton v Apollon background
Sunday, September 17, 2017
Article summary
Everton will look to dispel memories of their miserable opening Group E game as they welcome Apollon Limassol, who lost by five goals on their last visit to Merseyside.
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Everton will look to dispel memories of their miserable first game in UEFA Europa League Group E as they welcome Apollon Limassol, who lost by five goals on their last visit to Merseyside.
Previous meetings
• The sides are meeting for the first time and this is Everton's first encounter with Cypriot opponents.
• Apollon have been to Liverpool before, their only previous visit to England. They lost 6-1 to Everton's arch rivals at Anfield in a 1992/93 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup first round tie, then suffered a 2-1 defeat in the return leg on 29 September 1992, almost 25 years to the day before this game.
Form guide
• Everton have won their last four European home games. They lost 3-0 at Atalanta on matchday one.
• Apollon have lost their last five group stage away fixtures since a 1-0 success at Legia Warszawa in 2013/14. They earned a late 1-1 home draw against Lyon on matchday one.
• Seventh in the 2016/17 Premier League, Everton have made it through all three of their previous UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns, most recently in 2014/15.
• Apollon competed in back-to-back UEFA Europa League group stages in 2013/14 and 2014/15, but have yet to make it to the round of 32. They finished third in Cyprus last term, and beat champions APOEL in the domestic cup final.
Links and trivia
• The journey from Limassol to Liverpool is around 3,500km.
• Everton's Davy Klaassen is one game shy of his 50th UEFA club competition appearance.
• Apollon's Brazilian midfielder Allan is on loan from Everton's local rivals Liverpool.
• Apollon's French defender Valentin Roberge and Everton's Jordan Pickford were both on the books at Sunderland (2013–16) but never played a senior game together.
The coaches
• Everton manager since 2016, Ronald Koeman won European Cups as a defender with PSV Eindhoven (1988) and Barcelona (1992, when he scored the only goal of the final), and the 1988 UEFA European Championship with the Netherlands. He subsequently landed three Dutch titles coaching Ajax and PSV.
• Sofronis Avgousti has coached home-town team Apollon since 2016, having previously served the club in three separate spells as a goalkeeper. He won 11 international caps and was also on the books at AEK Larnaca, Aris Limassol and APOEL.