Rijeka v Standard Liège background
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Article summary
HNK Rijeka and R. Standard de Liège occupy the bottom slots in UEFA Europa League Group G as they meet for a fourth time, but all is not lost for either side.
Article top media content
Article body
HNK Rijeka welcome R. Standard de Liège back to Croatia looking to battle their way into the top two in UEFA Europa League Group G.
Form guide
• Standard beat Rijeka 2-0 in Belgium on matchday one to remain unbeaten in the sides' three meetings. The teams' paths previously crossed in the first round of the 1986/87 UEFA Cup, Milorad Pavić's Standard eking out a 2-1 aggregate win against Josip Skoblar's Rijeka.
• The teams for their last Croatian encounter, a 1-0 Standard win on 17 September 1986, were:
Rijeka: Ravnić, Jelavić, Strukar, Paliska, Ljepović (Škerjanc 57), Sredojević, Janković, Radmanović, Matrljan, Kotur (Mladenović 45), Vujčić.
Standard: Bodart, Luyckx, Collard, Jelikić, Aussems, Delangre, Petrović, Claesen, Czerniatynski (Bosman 71), Van Der Smissen, Repčić.
• Rijeka are unbeaten in 11 European home games (W7 D4) since a 2-1 loss to FC Metalist Kharkiv in 2009/10 UEFA Europa League qualifying; Standard have lost their last three European away fixtures.
Trivia and links
• Standard's Slovenian defender Martin Milec will be up against fellow Slovenian international, and former NK Maribor team-mate, Goran Cvijanović, who plays in midfield for Rijeka.
• Rijeka striker Andrej Kramarić is the golden boy of Croatian football at the moment; the 23-year-old scored a hat-trick against Feyenoord on matchday three, and hit five of Rijeka's six against NK Lokomotiva Zagreb in a recent league game.
The coaches
• Hired in February 2013, Rijeka coach Matjaž Kek led his native Slovenia to the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals. Kek started and ended his playing career as a defender at NK Maribor – where his father and son also played – either side of a long spell in Austria, and returned there to begin his coaching career.
• Appointed in summer 2013, Guy Luzon resigned as Standard coach in the run-up to matchday three, leaving his assistant Ivan Vukomanović to take the reins on a temporary basis.
• Vukumanović was confirmed as the club's coach for the remainder of the season after four games unbeaten as caretaker. The former midfielder's playing career took in spells at FK Obilić, FC Girondins de Bordeaux, FK Crvena zvezda, 1. FC Köln, FC Dinamo Moskva, KSC Lokeren OV and R. Antwerp FC among others.
