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Sheriff v Zlín background

Sheriff and Zlín both need of a positive result when they meet on matchday five; while victory could take the home team through, their visitors are out unless they come out on top.

Ziguy Badibanga celebrates scoring for Sheriff
Ziguy Badibanga celebrates scoring for Sheriff ©AFP/Getty Images

Sheriff have the opportunity to reach the knockout phase of a European competition for the first time as they welcome Zlín to Tiraspol in Group F.

The Moldovan club will qualify for the round of 32 should they beat their Czech visitors and Lokomotiv Moskva fail to win the group's other fixture at home to FC København. Zlín can only stay in contention with a win.

Previous meetings
• The two teams played out a goalless draw in Olomouc in their opening Group F fixture.

• Sheriff are yet to win in seven encounters with Czech clubs, though five of those games have ended all square. That includes home (1-1) and away (0-0) draws with Sigma Olomouc in the 1999/2000 UEFA Cup qualifying round – the Tiraspol club's first ever European tie.

Form guide
• Sheriff are without a victory in five UEFA Europa League home fixtures (D3 L2), qualifying included. However, they are undefeated in the competition this season, having drawn five of their matches and won the other – 2-1 away to Lokomotiv Moskva on matchday four.

• Zlín have scored just once in their four Group F games (D2 L2). The 3-0 loss at Lokomotiv on matchday two was their heaviest defeat in European competition.

• Sheriff featured in the 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2013/14 UEFA Europa League group stages, but are yet to appear in the spring phase of a UEFA competition.

• Zlín won the Czech Cup for the first time last season. The Ševci (Cobblers) have not played European football since the 2005 UEFA Intertoto Cup and are making their group stage debut.

Highlights: Zlín 0-0 Sheriff

Links and trivia
• The journey from Olomouc, where Zlín are playing their European home games, to Tiraspol is a little over 950km.

• On 18 November Sheriff won their 16th domestic championship crown in 18 years by beating second-placed Milsami 2-0, the latest Moldovan Divizia Nationala having been a short, transitional venture as the league switches to a spring-to-autumn schedule in 2018.

• Suspended for next match if booked: Ante Kulušić and Yuri Kendysh (Sheriff).

The coaches
• In charge of Sheriff since October 2016, Roberto Bordin is best known in his native Italy for his lengthy career as a midfielder, which took in spells at Atalanta, Napoli and Piacenza. He was 40 when he finally hung up his boots at Spezia in 2005.

• Bohumil Páník started his coaching career with Zlín in 2000, and returned to the club in 2014, his adventures in between having included spells with Lech Poznań and Pogoń Szczecin in Poland. He guided Zlín to Czech Cup glory in 2016/17.