First for Austria and Athletic

Although this will be the first meeting between the clubs in a UEFA competition, FK Austria Wien gained a crucial win against a Spanish side in the group stage of this season's UEFA Cup.

Radoslaw Gilewicz's solitary goal in the 70th minute ensured a 1-0 victory against Real Zaragoza and marked the capital club's first success against Primera División opposition in eleven attempts.

Despite that record, Austria did claim a notable Spanish scalp in the 1982/83 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final. Drawn against FC Barcelona, chances of progress looked slim following a 0-0 draw in Vienna. Gerhard Steinkogler's 37th-minute goal at Camp Nou revived spirits, however, and Austria held on for a famous away-goals triumph following a Barça equaliser.

Another Spanish side, Real Madrid CF, proved too strong in the last four, though, winning 5-3 on aggregate to progress to a final they would lose to Aberdeen FC. Aside from November's jinx-ending defeat of Zaragoza, Austria have lost six and drawn four of their ten games against teams from a Spain, scoring eight goals and conceding 20.

However, the opposition has been of top quality with two ties each against Madrid (the first was in the 1974/75 Cup Winners' Cup) and Barcelona (1993/94 UEFA Champions League qualifier). These games followed a first meeting with an Iberian side in the 1970/71 European Champion Clubs' Cup when Austria lost both legs to Club Atlético de Madrid and were eliminated 4-1 on aggregate.

Athletic Club Bilbao enter this tie on a high as their previous UEFA Cup fixture in December resulted in a 7-1 success at R. Standard de Liège. They could even afford to miss a penalty, as a hat-trick from Santiago Ezquerro and further goals from Fransisco Yeste, Andoni Iraola, Asier del Horno and Joseba Exteberria gave them a record away win in the revamped competition.

The Basque side have never played Austrian opposition in a UEFA competition, despite their entry into the European Cup in 1956.