Twente tune up for Schalke encounter

FC Twente enjoyed their last meeting with FC Schalke 04, and will hope to get the better of them for a second time in the round of 16.

Previous meetings
• The sides' only previous meeting came in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup group stage, when Steve McClaren's Twente beat Fred Rutten's Schalke 2-1. Rob Wielaert (2) and Kenneth Perez (54) put the Enschede side in control before Gerald Asamoah (77) got one back.

• Rutten knew all about Twente. He had spent his entire playing career at the club between 1977 and 1992, and went on to be their coach. He left in the summer of 2008 to join Schalke, and brought Twente's Dutch international midfielder Orlando Engelaar with him.

• The teams for that game on 3 December 2008 were:
Twente: Boschker*, Stam (Wellenberg 62), Wielaert, Douglas*, Braafheid, Brama*, Perez (Tioté 74), T Janssen, Arnautović (Denneboom 90), Nkufo, Elia.
Schalke: Neuer, Rafinha, Höwedes*, Westermann, Krstajić, Ernst, Jones* (Halil Altıntop 68), Engelaar, Asamoah, Kuranyi, Farfán*.

*registered to play in this season's UEFA Europa League.

Match background
• Twente's 15 games against German sides have ended W3 D5 L7 (W2 D3 L3 at home). They suffered the heaviest home defeat in their European history against Bundesliga opposition, losing 5-1 to VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach in the two-legged 1974/75 UEFA Cup final after drawing 0-0 in the away fixture.

• Schalke's six games against Dutch sides have ended W2 D1 L3 (W0 D1 L3 in the Netherlands). They have lost their last three in the Netherlands since marking their first trip across that border with a 1-1 draw at Roda JC in the 1996/97 UEFA Cup first round.

• Twente are unbeaten in six European home games – five wins and a draw – since losing to Villarreal CF in last season's UEFA Europa League quarter-finals.

• Twente are playing in the round of 16 for the second season in succession. They defeated FC Zenit St Petersburg this time last year before that loss to Villarreal.

• UEFA Champions League semi-finalists last season, Schalke last played in the round of 16 in this competition in 2005/06. They beat US Città di Palermo en route to defeat by Sevilla FC in the semi-finals.

• Schalke are unbeaten in nine European games − six wins and three draws − since a shock 2-0 loss at HJK Helsinki in the play-off first leg.

Team facts
• Schalke's Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is the highest scorer left in the competition with six goals, one fewer than Matías Suárez – the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League's top scorer, even though his RSC Anderlecht side were eliminated in the round of 32.

• Huntelaar played in the Netherlands for PSV Eindhoven, De Graafschap, AGOVV Apeldoorn, sc Heerenveen and AFC Ajax.

• Huntelaar's hat-trick against FC Viktoria Plzeň in the round of 32 second leg made him Schalke's all-time top scorer in UEFA competitions with 13 goals in 17 matches, breaking Ebbe Sand's record of 10 goals scored in 31 matches between 1999 and 2006.

• Twente have scored six of their 16 UEFA Europa League goals this season between the 31st minute and the half-time interval.

• Twente's Swedish international midfielder and winger Emir Bajrami celebrates his 24th birthday on the eve of the game.

• Schalke striker Jefferson Farfán played in the Netherlands for PSV (2004-08).

• After Co Adriaanse's dismissal as Twente coach in January, McClaren returned to take the reins for a second time. The former Middlesbrough FC, England and VfL Wolfsburg boss led the club to 2009/10 Dutch title – the first in their history.

• McClaren took on Schalke once during his time as Wolfsburg coach, a 2-2 Bundesliga home draw on 13 November 2010.

• Twente assistant coach Youri Mulder played up front for Schalke (1993-2002) and was assistant and interim coach at the club (2008-09).

• Huub Stevens replaced Ralf Rangnick as Schalke coach after matchday one. The Dutchman coached Schalke (1996-2002), winning the 1997 UEFA Cup and German Cups in 2001 and 2002. Originally a defender for Fortuna Sittard and PSV, the Dutchman was named by fans as the coach of Schalke's team of the century in 1999.

Competition statistics
• An updated version of the UEFA Europa League Statistics Handbook is available here:
http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/newsid=1750416.html