Romania v Greece background

Romania lost out to Greece a play-off for a 2014 FIFA World Cup finals place, but a Group F double over visitors whose qualifying hopes are now over will keep them on track for UEFA EURO 2016.

• Alexandru Chipchiu is suspended after accumulating three bookings. The following players are a yellow card away from a ban: Claudiu Keseru (Romania), Nikos Karelis, Panagiotis Kone, Giannis Maniatis, Kostas Manolas and Andreas Samaris (Greece).

Previous meetings
• Greece's ill-starred UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying campaign began with a 1-0 home defeat to Romania, Ciprian Marica scoring from the penalty spot in the first game of Claudio Ranieri's short spell as Greece coach.

• The sides have met 34 times at senior level, with Romania's record in those games reading W18 D9 L7 (W11 D3 L1 in Romania – W6 D5 L5 in Greece). These matches include two friendlies played on neutral territory – a win for Romania in Belgrade in 1932 and a 2-2 draw in Sofia in 1935 – but not Greece's 3-2 win against Romania on 12 May 2002, which is not classed as an official FIFA game.

• The balance of power between the two nations has shifted in recent years; it took 16 attempts for Greece to record their first win against Romania, a 2-1 success in Athens on 13 December 1978. Things are now much more even: since the turn of the millennium, Romania's seven official games against Greece have ended W3 D1 L3.

• Greece eliminated Romania in the play-offs for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil, winning 3-1 in Piraeus and earning a 1-1 draw in Bucharest.

Form guide
• Unbeaten Romania have the best defence in qualifying, with just one goal conceded in seven outings.

• Romania are unbeaten in five qualifying home games (W3 D2) since a 2-0 loss to Turkey on 10 September 2013.

• Greece are without a win on the road in Group F, coach Sergio Markarián tendering his resignation in the aftermath of their most recent away game, a 2-1 loss in the Faroe Islands.

Trivia and links
• This is Greece's 250th competitive game; this is their 124th UEFA European Championship game, while they have played 126 in the FIFA World Cup.

• Romania defender Dragoş Grigore turns 29 on the day of the Greece game.

• In 14 UEFA age-group meetings with Romania, Greece's record is W10 D0 L4.

• In the 28 UEFA competition fixtures between Greek and Romanian clubs, the Greek sides' record is W11 D2 L15, though the Greek side has won the last three encounters without conceding.