Leverkusen v Villarreal background

Bayer 04 Leverkusen will hope for a fourth 3-0 win against Spanish opponents as they aim to overturn a 2-0 UEFA Europa League round of 16 deficit against Villarreal CF.

Previous meetings
• Villarreal secured a third win in three UEFA meetings with Leverkusen in the first leg, Cédric Bakambu scoring both goals in Spain.

• In their only previous encounters, Juan Carlos Garrido's Villarreal beat Jupp Heynckes' Leverkusen 3-2 in Germany and then 2-1 in Spain in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League round of 16.

• Leverkusen's 34 matches with Spanish teams have ended W10 D6 L18 (W7 D4 L5 at home – W3 D2 L12 in Spain). They lost 2-1 to Real Madrid CF in the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League final in Glasgow. Those Leverkusen home wins include three by 3-0 margins. Another would be sufficient to eliminate Villarreal.

• Villarreal's record in 11 meetings with German sides is W5 D3 L3 (W3 D2 L1 at home – W2 D1 L2 in Germany).

Form guide
• Leverkusen are unbeaten in six European home games (W4 D2), and have won UEFA home games by margins of two or more goals three times in 2015/16.

• Villarreal are unbeaten in three UEFA away fixtures (W1 D2), and have scored at least once in their last 12 European matches on the road – and in all five of their away games against German sides – significant given how much harder an away goal would make Leverkusen's task.

• Leverkusen's last round of 16 tie in this competition was the defeat by Villarreal in 2010/11. They last reached the quarter-finals in 2007/08. Leverkusen got the better of RCD Espanyol on penalties in the two-legged 1988 UEFA Cup final.

• Villarreal bowed out to holders and eventual winners Sevilla FC in the last 16 last term. Their best campaigns in the competition ended in the semi-finals, where they were twice eliminated by eventual winners – Valencia CF in 2003/04 and FC Porto in 2010/11.

Trivia and links
• The journey from Villarreal to Leverkusen is around 1,350km.

• The first leg was Leverkusen's 200th UEFA club competition match, with their overall record reading W89 D44 L67.

• The second leg is taking place the day after Leverkusen forward Admir Mehmedi's 25th birthday.

• Villarreal defender Jaume Costa turns 28 the day after the second leg.

• Villarreal's Samuel Castillejo remains the most fouled player in this season's competition, with 32 infringements against him since the start of the group stage.

• Leverkusen's Javier Hernández played in Spain with Real Madrid CF from 2014–15, while Villarreal's Antonio Rukavina was in Germany with Borussia Dortmund and TSV 1860 München from 2008–12.

The coaches
• In charge of Leverkusen since summer 2014, Roger Schmidt worked as a mechanical engineer while playing amateur football. He coached in the German lower leagues before making his name at FC Salzburg, whom he steered to a domestic double in 2013/14 and the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League that same season.

• Marcelino's career as a midfielder was curtailed early by injury. As a coach, he worked his way up the Spanish leagues, culminating in spells with Real Zaragoza, Real Racing Club Santander and Sevilla. He took over at Villarreal in 2013, leading them to promotion in his first campaign.

Penalty shoot-outs
• Leverkusen's record in three UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W1 L2:
W 3-2 N v RCD Espanyol (1987/88 UEFA Cup final)
L 5-3 A v FC Tirol Innsbruck (1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup quarter-finals)
L 3-2 A v Club Atlético de Madrid (2014/15 UEFA Champions League round of 16)

• Villarreal won their only previous UEFA penalty shoot-out:
W 3-1 A v Club Atlético de Madrid (2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup finals)