Sevilla in search of Spartak Moskva turnaround

FC Spartak Moskva got their first UEFA Champions League win of the season in considerable style, but Sevilla FC will not be short of incentive to turn the tables in the reverse fixture in Spain.

• Matchday three was the sides' first meeting and it could hardly have gone better for Spartak, whose 5-1 victory was their record winning margin, home or away, in the UEFA Champions League, and Sevilla's biggest defeat.

• That result has left the Russian champions level with Liverpool FC on five points at the top of Group E, although Sevilla are just a point behind and would go above their opponents with victory at the Estádio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.

Match background

Sevilla
• Before their heavy defeat at Spartak, Sevilla had lost only one of their previous eight games (W4 D3) against Russian clubs, 2-1 at home to PFC CSKA Moskva in the 2009/10 round of 16 second leg (2-3 aggregate).

• That is the Spanish side's solitary defeat in five home matches against Russian visitors; Sevilla won the other four.

• Prior to matchday three, their most recent Russian assignment came in the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, when they beat FC Zenit 4-3 on aggregate (2-1 home, 2-2 away) en route to lifting the trophy.

• A Wissam Ben Yedder hat-trick secured a 3-0 win at home to NK Maribor on matchday two. Sevilla have lost two of their last eight European home fixtures, winning five and drawing the other.

• Last term, Sevilla made it to the round of 16 for the first time since 2009/10 – but they have never gone further in the UEFA Champions League era. This is their fifth group stage campaign and their third in a row.

• Sevilla qualified by finishing fourth in the 2016/17 Spanish Liga. They beat Turkey's İstanbul Başakşehir in August's play-offs, winning the away first leg 2-1 before a 2-2 draw in southern Spain.

Spartak Moskva
• The matchday three win ended Spartak's three-game losing streak against Spanish clubs, including away (2-3) and home (0-3) defeats by FC Barcelona in the 2012/13 group stage.

• Spartak were without a win in their previous six fixtures against Liga teams, home and away (D2 L4); matchday three was their first success since a 1-0 victory at RCD Mallorca in the 2003/04 UEFA Cup third round second leg (1-3 aggregate). They have now won two of their last 11 matches with Spanish sides (D2 L7), that Mallorca victory the sole time they have avoided defeat on their last seven visits to Spain.

• The Russian club's record away to Spanish clubs is W4 D0 L9.

• The Sevilla scalp halted Spartak's nine-game run without a win in European fixtures, home and away, since a 2-1 victory over SL Benfica on 23 October 2012. Their record since then was D4 L5.

• This is Spartak's 12th group stage campaign, and a first since 2012/13 when they came fourth in a section also including Barcelona, Benfica and Celtic FC. They have not graced the last 16 since 2000/01, when they reached the second group stage.

• The Moscow club qualified automatically for the group stage by lifting their 22nd league title in 2016/17. Last term, their European campaign ended at the first hurdle, with defeat by AEK Larnaca FC in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.

• Furthermore, Spartak have not won away since a 1-0 success at AFC Ajax in their 2010/11 UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg. Their record since is D5 L4.

Coach and player links
• Sevilla coach Eduardo Berizzo got the better of Russian opposition with RC Celta de Vigo in last season's UEFA Europa League round of 16, beating FC Krasnodar 2-1 at home and 2-0 away.

• Nicolás Pareja played for Spartak between 2010 and 2013, making 47 league appearances and scoring three times.

• Luis Muriel and Joaquín Correa were team-mates with Fernando at UC Sampdoria in 2015/16.

• Mario Pašalić spent 2014/15 at Elche CF, playing 64 minutes of a 3-0 defeat at Sevilla on 15 March 2015.

• Nolito and Lorenzo Melgarejo were Benfica team-mates in 2012/13.

Match facts

Sevilla
• Sergio Escudero will incur a suspension with his next booking.

• Sevilla's 3-0 win at FC Cartagena in the Copa del Rey on 24 October ended runs of three consecutive defeats and four straight away reverses in all competitions.

• Sevilla have scored just ten goals in as many league games this season.

• Wissam Ben Yedder got his eighth goal in 12 appearances for Sevilla this term in Saturday's 2-1 win against CD Leganés.

Spartak Moskva
• Georgi Dzhikiya is a booking away from a ban.

• Spartak are unbeaten in 13 matches in all competitions.

• Spartak made it to the Russian Cup quarter-finals with a 5-2 win over PFC Spartak Nalchik on 25 October.

• Lorenzo Melgarejo struck twice, his first double since joining Spartak in February 2016, while centre-back Ilya Kutepov scored his first goal for the club in that match.

• Andrei Eschenko (thigh) missed the game against Spartak Nalchik and Saturday's 2-2 draw at FC Rostov while 19-year-old goalkeeper Aleksandr Maksimenko made his debut against Rostov.

• Ivelin Popov celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday.