PAOK prepare for tough trip to Rubin

Having won away from home on matchday one, FC Rubin Kazan will look to strengthen their position at the top of UEFA Europa League Group A with a win against PAOK FC.

Previous meetings
• The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition.

• Rubin came up against Panathinaikos FC in last season's UEFA Champions League group stage, drawing twice; they have yet to score – or indeed concede – in 180 minutes of football against Greek sides.

• In PAOK's only previous games against Russian sides they played Rubin's Premier League rivals PFC CSKA Moskva in last season's UEFA Europa League round of 32; they lost 2-1 on aggregate, losing 1-0 at home and drawing 1-1 in Moscow.

Match background
• Rubin have lost only one of their last 13 home games in Europe, 2-0 against FC Twente in last season's UEFA Europa League round of 32, but that run includes eight draws as well as four wins.

• PAOK have gone four games without a European away defeat (two wins and two draws) since a 1-0 loss at Villarreal CF in last season's UEFA Europa League group stage.

• Rubin's 3-0 win at Shamrock Rovers FC on matchday one was their biggest away victory in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League and matched their previous European best on their travels, a 3-0 success at Zalaegerszegi TE in the 2007 UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Team facts
• Kurban Berdyev has been coach of Rubin since 2001, with the Turkmenistan-born boss leading them to Russian titles in 2008 and 2009. Rubin captain Roman Sharonov once said of his serious-minded boss: "He has football in his mind 24 hours a day. If I thought about football that much I would probably lose my mind."

• Capped 108 times by Romania as a midfielder, PAOK coach László Bölöni has been involved with four other clubs in this season's UEFA Europa League group stage; he played for FC Steaua Bucureşti (1984-87) and coached Sporting Clube de Portugal (2001-03), Stade Rennais FC (2003-06) and R. Standard de Liège (2008-10).

• Rubin's Turkish midfielder Gökdeniz Karadeniz has come up against Greece three times with his national team with the record W1 D1 L1. He scored after coming on as a substitute in Turkey's 4-1 UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying away win on 24 March 2007.

• PAOK goalkeeper Kostas Chalkias helped Greece keep a clean sheet in the return fixture, as his side won 1-0 against a side featuring Gökdeniz in Istanbul.

• Gökdeniz came up against PAOK's president Theodoros Zagorakis and technical director Zisis Vryzas as Turkey and Greece drew 0-0 in 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying.