Debrecen hoping for Hungarian comeback

Debreceni VSC are seeking to become the first Hungarian side to compete in the UEFA Champions League proper for over a decade when they visit PFC Levski Sofia for the first leg of their play-off.

• Not since Ferencvárosi TC in 1995/96 has a team from Hungary taken part in Europe's elite club competition, but to end that wait Debrecen must overcome a Levski side with recent experience of the group stage, following their participation in 2006/07.

• While these teams have never met before and Debrecen have never previously played a side from Bulgaria, Levski may prefer not to remember their past encounters with Hungarian opponents. They lost heavily against Újpest FC in the first round of the 1974/75 European Champion Clubs' Cup, going down 3-0 at home and 4-1 away. They enjoyed no better fortune against Ferencváros in the first round of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1991/92. After a narrow 3-2 home loss, they suffered a 4-1 defeat in Hungary in the return.

Match background

• Levski saw off Andorra's UE Sant Julià 9-0 on aggregate before bettering the Azerbaijani champions FC Bakı in the third qualifying round, a 2-0 second-leg home win carrying them through by the same score on aggregate.

• Levski were regulars in the old European Champion Clubs' Cup but in the past decade they have struggled to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. Although they won through in 2006/07, with a victory against Italian side AC Chievo Verona, they have slipped up four times in the qualifying stages – in 2000/01, 2001/02, 2002/03 and 12 months ago, when they lost out to FC BATE Borisov of Belarus.

• They also fell short of the group stage in 1993/94, though reached as far as the second round in what was an earlier version of the competition format.

• Debrecen reached the play-off round by eliminating Sweden's Kalmar FF on away goals in the second qualifying round – after a 3-3 aggregate draw – and then securing 1-0 wins both home and away against FC Levadia Tallinn.

• Debrecen have never competed in the UEFA Champions League proper. They lost in the second qualifying round in 2006/07 and 2007/08 and only once before have they reached the final stage of qualifying – in 2005/06, when they were beaten by Manchester United FC.