Romania v Finland background

Romania remain in an excellent position to qualify for UEFA EURO 2016 but could do with ending their recent goal drought as they take on a Finland side who have rallied in Group F.

• Second-placed Romania will qualify if they get a better result than Hungary, in third, manage against the Faroe Islands.

• Fourth-ranked Finland and Romania both have an inferior head-to-head record in the event that they finish level on points with Hungary.

Previous meetings
• Bogdan Stancu scored both goals as Romania marked captain Răzvan Raţ's 100th international appearance with a 2-0 win in Helsinki last October in the teams' first Group F meeting. Finland's Alexander Ring was sent off after 56 minutes.

• Romania's record in nine matches against Finland is W7 D2 L0 (W4 D0 L0 at home).

Form guide
• Romania are unbeaten in six competitive home games (W3 D3). They have the best defensive record in qualifying with just one goal conceded in eight outings. However, the goals have dried up at the other end too – their last three Group F matches all ended 0-0.

• Finland's away record in Group F reads W2 D2. Their confidence is returning after winning their two September qualifiers 1-0, against Greece and the Faroe Islands – their first two assignments under caretaker coach Markku Kanerva.

Disciplinary
• Alexandru Chipciu is available after a one-game ban; Gabriel Torje and Claudiu Keșerü will incur a suspension with their next bookings.

• Tim Sparv is suspended for the Romania game; Paulus Arajuuri, Markus Halsti and Perparim Hetemaj are within a booking of a ban.

Trivia and links
• In 11 encounters in UEFA age-group competitions, Finland's record against Romania is W1 D3 L7. The most recent of these was a 1-0 victory for Romania in a 2013 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifier staged in Albania.

• The nations' clubs have met in 21 UEFA competition games, with the Finnish sides' record in these fixtures reading W6 D2 L13.