Espanyol big guns trained on Bremen

The 2006/07 UEFA Cup's top scorers RCD Espanyol will look to build up a good lead as they welcome Werder Bremen in the first leg of their semi-final, the first European meeting of the two sides.

• Espanyol reached the Round of 32 as Group F winners - one of only two clubs along with Tottenham Hotspur FC to win all four matches - and then beat AS Livorno Calcio 2-1 away and 2-0 at home to progress to the last 16. A goalless draw at Maccabi Haifa FC in the Round of 16 ended Espanyol's run of seven straight victories, but they made amends with a 4-0 win in the return leg to reach the quarter-finals. They won 3-2 at home against SL Benfica in the quarter-finals and progressed with a goalless draw in the away leg.

• The 0-0 draw in Lisbon was Espanyol's 50th UEFA Cup appearance.

• Bremen earned a UEFA Cup place after finishing third behind Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona in UEFA Champions League Group A. The 1992 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup victors then eliminated AFC Ajax, winning 3-0 at the Weserstadion and losing 3-1 at the Amsterdam ArenA. They reached the quarter-finals with a 1-0 away victory and a 2-0 win at home against RC Celta de Vigo and then drew 0-0 at AZ Alkmaar in the last eight before winning the home leg 4-1.

• Bremen's four goals against AZ took their total in UEFA club competition to 299 goals.

• Espanyol have been paired with German sides in four previous European ties. They lost 2-1 at TSV Eintracht Braunschweig and won 2-0 at home in the 1976/77 UEFA Cup. In the 1987/88 UEFA Cup first round they won 1-0 at VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach then triumphed 4-1 at home en route to a final with Bayer 04 Leverkusen. They won the final home leg 3-0 but lost the return by the same score, and were eventually defeated on penalties.

• More recently Espanyol lost 2-1 away and 3-0 at home against FC Schalke 04 in the 2005/06 UEFA Cup Round of 32. Their record in eight games against German sides reads won four and lost four with 12 goals scored and eight conceded.

• Those games will be particularly memorable for Espanyol coach Ernesto Valverde. He appeared in both matches against Mönchengladbach, scoring his only European goal in the second leg, and also played in the first leg of the final against Leverkusen, Espanyol's last victory against a German side.

• Bremen have played in four European ties against Spanish sides as well as being pooled with Primera División opponents in three successive UEFA Champions League group stage campaigns.

• Their biggest meeting with a Spanish side came in 1992 when they took on FC Barcelona in the UEFA Super Cup, drawing 1-1 at home before losing 2-1 at Camp Nou. Current Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf made a 30-minute appearance in that latter game.

• Schaaf also played in both legs of Bremen's tie with Club Atlético de Madrid in the 1986/87 UEFA Cup first round. Bremen lost 2-0 in Madrid but levelled the scores in normal time at the Weserstadion only to lose in extra time.

• In total, their record in 14 games against Spanish sides reads won five, drawn three and lost six with 15 goals scored and 19 conceded. They have won their last two meetings with Primera División opponents, recording 1-0 away and 2-0 home victories against Celta in this season's Round of 16.

• Espanyol remain the highest scorers in this season's UEFA Cup with 27 goals. They have conceded just eight.

• Valverde's men have scored relatively consistently throughout games, with a burst just after half-time; seven of their goals have been scored between the 46th and 60th minutes.

• Uruguayan striker Walter Pandiani is the tournament's top scorer this season with ten goals, while Luis García has managed six strikes.

• Bremen have scored eleven goals and conceded four since moving from the UEFA Champions League group stage into the UEFA Cup Round of 32. Prior to that, they had scored seven and conceded five in Europe's top club competition.

• Eight of Bremen's goals have come after half-time, with Hugo Almeida proving the most potent scorer with three in the competition.

• Espanyol's Francisco Chica will celebrate his 22nd birthday on 17 May, the day after the UEFA Cup final.

• Espanyol's Jesús María Lacruz turns 29 on 25 April, the day before their first leg tie against Bremen. Top scorer Walter Pandiani will celebrate his 31st birthday a day later, on 27 April. A third Espanyol player, Iván de la Peña will turn 31 on 6 May, three days after the second leg with Bremen.

• Bremen midfielder Tim Borowski celebrates his 27th birthday on 2 May, the day before the Espanyol return

• Italy are the most successful UEFA Cup nation with nine victories. A success for Bremen this season would move Germany on to seven victories. They are currently joint second in the UEFA Cup rankings with England with six triumphs apiece, two more than Spain.

• Espanyol start the first leg with Francisco Chica, Luis García and Pablo Javier Zabaleta serving one-match suspensions after being booked in Lisbon, along with Ivan de la Peña and Ito, who join Albert Riera, Moisés Hurtado, Pandiani and Francisco Rufete on two yellow cards. All are within a caution of missing their next European game.

• Bremen have no suspension problems but Tim Wiese's booking against AZ means he joins six other players within one caution of a ban: Tim Borowski, Torsten Frings, Clemens Fritz, Diego, Naldo and Pierre Wome are the others.

• The return will be played in Bremen on 3 May. The aggregate winners will face CA Osasuna or Sevilla FC in the final at Hampden Park on 16 May. For administrative purposes, Espanyol or Bremen will be classed as the home team.