Sevilla pose a tough start for Unirea

Sevilla FC begin their second UEFA Champions League campaign with a home game against FC Unirea Urziceni, the Group G debutants from Romania, and the opportunity to underline how strong they are at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán.

Previous meetings
• Sevilla coach Manuel Jiménez will be confident his team can start on the right foot. In four competitive games with FC Steaua Bucureşti the Spanish club have ended on the winning side each time.

• Sevilla's two away games in Romania both took place in 2007 at the Steaua Stadium, where Unirea will play home matches in this campaign. Sevilla recorded 2-0 wins in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup Round of 32 and the group stage of the following season's UEFA Champions League.

• At home the games were tighter affairs, Sevilla winning 1-0 and then 2-1.

• It is the first time Unirea, Liga 1 champions for the first time last season, have faced a team from Spain in European club competition.

Match background
• Sevilla have unhappy memories of Matchday 1 from their previous UEFA Champions League appearance, going down 3-0 at Arsenal FC in 2007/08. However, five subsequent victories sent them into the last 16 as group winners.

• The Andalusian club scored nine goals in their three home games and maintained that average with a 3-2 win against Fenerbahçe SK in the first knockout round. However, having lost the away tie by the same score the issue was decided on penalties, the Turkish club going through.

• Adding their 2-0 win in the home leg of that season's third qualifying round tie against AEK Athens FC, the Spanish side have won all five home games in Europe's premier club competition. During their successive UEFA Cup triumphs in 2006 and 2007, Sevilla lost just one of their 14 home games, winning eleven and drawing two.

Team ties
• Unirea coach Dan Petrescu played for Romania against Spain at EURO '96™, a Group B fixture in Leeds that Spain won 2-1.