København v Leverkusen background

FC København can seek inspirations from their predecessor clubs as they go in search of a first win against German opponents, Bayer 04 Leverkusen their UEFA Champions League play-off visitors.

Previous meetings
• none

Form guide
• FCK's record in eight games against German sides is W0 D3 L5 (W0 D0 L4 at home, W0 D3 L1 in Germany). They have scored only once at home against German opponents.

• Of the two sides who merged to form FCK in 1992, Kjøbenhavns BK took FC Schalke 04 to a replay in the 1959 European Champion Clubs' Cup preliminary round, the Gelsenkirchen side prevailing 3-1 in Enschede after a 3-0 away loss and a 5-2 home win. Meanwhile, B1903 København's four meetings with German sides ended W1 D0 L3, with that lone victory a sensational 6-2 against FC Bayern München in the 1991/92 UEFA Cup.

• Leverkusen's record in three games against Danish clubs is W1 D1 L1 (W1 D1 L0 at home, W0 D0 L1 in Denmark).

• FCK have featured in the UEFA Champions League group stage three times, and are hoping to do so for the first time in successive seasons in 2014/15. Leverkusen have played in eight group stages.

Links and trivia
• FCK's Swedish defender Mikael Antonsson and Leverkusen striker Stefan Kiessling will both make their 50th UEFA club competition appearance if they play in the first leg.

• Leverkusen midfielder Lars Bender and FCK striker Marvin Pourie were team-mates at German second division side TSV 1860 München for much of 2009. They played just one match together, though Pourie also came on as a substitute for Bender in a German Cup game against Hamburger SV.

• FCK coach Ståle Solbakken took on Leverkusen twice in his time as 1. FC Köln coach, from 2011 to 2012. His side won 4-1 in Leverkusen but lost 2-0 in Cologne, Lars Bender scoring both goals in that game.

• FCK's Andreas Cornelius and Leverkusen's Hakan Çalhanoğlu played against each other in Denmark's 3-1 win against Turkey in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship elite round in May 2012. Çalhanoğlu scored Turkey's consolation in Brondby.

• FCK attacking midfielder Nicolai Jørgensen played for Leverkusen (2010 –12), but failed to score in ten appearances for the club – and an additional five while on loan at 1. FC Kaiserslautern – and joined FCK in the summer of 2012 after a successful loan spell.

• FCK's Swedish defender Per Nilsson played alongside Leverkusen's Philipp Wollscheid (1. FC Nürnberg, 2010–12) and Josip Drmić (1. FC Nürnberg, 2013–14) during his seven-year spell in Germany. His eight games against Leverkusen with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Nürnberg ended W1 D1 L6.