Fiorentina v PAOK background

ACF Fiorentina will look to confirm their place in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 on matchday four as they take on PAOK FC in Italy.

Form guide
• Having triumphed 1-0 at PAOK last time out, Fiorentina are one of a trio of sides to have taken maximum points from the opening three matchdays, along with FC Dinamo Moskva and Legia Warszawa.

• Legia and Fiorentina are also yet to concede, a boast they share in common with AS Saint-Étienne, Torino FC and FC Internazionale Milano.

• Since the advent of the UEFA Europa League, six sides have taken nine points or more yet failed to make it to the round of 32:
BSC Young Boys (10 points, 2012/13)
Tottenham Hotspur FC (10 points, 2011/12)
Paris Saint-Germain (10 points, 2011/12)
Birmingham City FC (10 points, 2011/12)
Borussia Dortmund (9 points, 2010/11)
FC Basel 1893 (9 points, 2009/10)

• Fiorentina have won their last seven home games in UEFA group stages; PAOK have lost their last three European away games without scoring.

Trivia and links
• PAOK's Alexandros Tziolis (AC Siena 2010-11), Dimitris Papadopoulos (US Lecce 2008-09) and Nikos Spyropoulos (AC Chievo Verona 2013) have all played in Italy.

• Tziolis and Fiorentina's Marko Marin were club-mates at SV Werder Bremen (2009-10).

• Fiorentina's Joaquín – not included in their UEFA Europa League squad – and PAOK's Hedwiges Maduro played together at Valencia CF (2008-11).

• Fiorentina's Marin and PAOK's Maduro were team-mates last season at Sevilla FC.

• PAOK goalkeeper Charles Itandje and Fiorentina's Alberto Aquilani were team-mates at Liverpool FC (2009-10).

• PAOK's Dimitris Salpingidis has made 72 UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League appearances (including qualifying) and is third in the competition's all-time standings behind Giuseppe Bergomi (96) and Frank Rost (90).

• Fiorentina's Marin has started on the bench for the winning side in the last two UEFA Europa League finals, triumphing with Chelsea FC (2012/13) and while on loan at Sevilla FC (2013/14). However, he only played in the latter fixture.

The coaches
• Fiorentina coach since June 2012, Vincenzo Montella was known as L'Aeroplanino (the Little Aeroplane) because of his modest stature and trademark goal celebration during his time as a striker. He won the Serie A title and two Coppa Italias with AS Roma, whom he later coached along with Calcio Catania.

• Angelos Anastasiadis started out as a versatile midfielder at PAOK and began his third spell as the club's coach in May 2014. Capped 12 times by Greece, he also played for and coached Panathinaikos FC, and was in charge of Cyprus's national team from 2004 to 2011.