Hannover host desperate Twente

Hannover 96 are safely through to the round of 32 as they play host to FC Twente in UEFA Europa League Group L, with the Dutch side needing a win to stay in the hunt.

• Only Levante UD can deny Hannover top spot in Group L. Twente can finish second, but must win in Hannover and hope Levante drop points at Helsingborgs IF if they are to have a chance of making it to the next phase of the competition.

Previous meetings
• The teams drew 2-2 on matchday one. Cruising towards victory after a Willem Janssen goal and a heavily deflected Nacer Chadli free-kick, Steve McClaren's team were pegged back by an Artur Sobiech strike and Peter Wisgerhof's own goal. It was Hannover's first game against a Dutch side.

• Twente's 18 UEFA games against German sides have ended W4 D6 L8 (W3 D4 L3 at home – W1 D2 L5 in Germany). Those matches include their only UEFA final, in which they drew 0-0 away and were beaten 5-1 at home by VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach in the two-legged 1974/75 UEFA Cup decider.

• The Enschede club are taking on German opponents in Europe for the fifth season in succession: in 2008/09 they beat FC Schalke 04 2-1 at home in the UEFA Cup group stage; in 2009/10 they lost 4-2 on aggregate to SV Werder Bremen in the UEFA Europa League round of 32; in 2010/11 they drew 1-1 at home and won 2-0 away against the same opponents in the UEFA Champions League group stage; in 2011/12, Schalke eliminated them in the UEFA Europa League round of 16, again 4-2 on aggregate.

Match background
• Rosenborg BK and Twente are the only sides who have battled their way to the group stage all the way from the first qualifying round.

• Hannover returned to UEFA competition after a 19-year absence last season and made it through to the knockout phase in their first UEFA Europa League campaign, losing 2-1 home and away against eventual winners Club Atlético de Madrid in the quarter-finals.

• Hannover have won all four of their European home games since that loss to Atlético, and have not been beaten in Europe this season, winning seven of their eight fixtures and scoring 24 goals in the process – an average of three a game.

• Twente are without a win in three European away games, during which they have conceded eight goals.

• This is Twente's fourth campaign in this group stage, with all three of their previous efforts ending in qualification for the round of 32.

Team facts
• Twente's Dmitri Bulykin (Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2007–08, Fortuna Düsseldorf 2009/10), Rasmus Bengtsson (Hertha BSC Berlin 2009–10) and Edson Braafheid (FC Bayern München 2009–10, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 2011–12) have all played in Germany.

• Hannover coach Mirko Slomka played for the club and coached their youth teams before taking charge of the first team in January 2010. He previously enjoyed success in the 2005/06 UEFA Cup group stage, leading Schalke from the round of 32 to the semi-finals after replacing Ralf Rangnick as coach following the group phase.

• Twente coach Steve McClaren kicked off a second spell in charge at the club in January, having won the 2009/10 Eredivisie title in his first spell before joining VfL Wolfsburg. A midfielder in the English lower leagues, he assisted Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United FC, then coached Middlesbrough FC to the 2005/06 UEFA Cup final, before embarking on an short-lived spell as England manager.

• The coaches met twice in the 2010/11 Bundesliga: McClaren's Wolfsburg secured their first league win of the season when they beat Hannover 2-0 at home on 18 September 2010, but the Englishman was dismissed two days after a 1-0 loss away against Slomka's side, which took place on 5 February 2011.