Krasnodar v Salzburg background
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Article summary
Krasnodar may have lost two in a row but they remain second in UEFA Europa League Group I, and Salzburg must win in Russia to have a chance of usurping them.
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Krasnodar lost back-to-back games against Schalke over the last two matchdays but can still forge on to the round of 32 with the right combination of results on matchday five.
• Krasnodar are through if they pick up more points than Nice do away to Schalke; Salzburg require a win to maintain their qualification hopes.
• Schalke have clinched Group I since they beat currently-second Krasnodar twice; to stay in contention, Nice must win against Schalke while a draw also keeps their hopes alive if Krasnodar do not win.
Previous meetings
• Joãozinho's goal was enough for Krasnodar to get the better of Salzburg in Austria on matchday one.
• These teams had never previously met a side from their opponents' country.
Form guide
• Prior to their matchday three loss to Schalke, Krasnodar had won all three of their European home games this season by scoring three or more goals.
• Salzburg's 2-0 victory at Nice on matchday four ended a five-match wait for a European win (D1 L4).
• The Russian outfit progressed to the last 32 in 2015/16 after missing out in their maiden UEFA Europa League group stage campaign the previous year.
• Salzburg have made it through four of their five previous UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns.
Links and trivia
• The journey from Salzburg to Krasnodar is around 2,000km.
• Jonatan Soriano (25 goals) is Salzburg's all-time top scorer in Europe; Brazilian team-mates Ari and Joãozinho are Krasnodar's leading European marksmen with nine goals each.
• Krasnodar's Uzbek midfielder Odil Akhmedov turns 29 the day after the game.
The coaches
• Igor Shalimov stepped in to take temporary command of Krasnodar on 13 September following the resignation of Oleg Kononov. The former USSR, CIS and Russia midfielder, who helped Internazionale win the 1994 UEFA Cup, had been on Kononov's staff, helping the club's strikers.
• A midfielder – and later youth coach – at Barcelona, Salzburg's Spanish coach Óscar García has managed abroad with Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Brighton & Hove Albion and Watford, and steered Salzburg to the Austrian title in his first campaign in charge in 2015/16.