Zenit take lead to Villarreal

Pavel Pogrebnyak's first-leg goal has left FC Zenit St. Petersburg with a 1-0 lead to defend as they look to avoid a UEFA Cup Round of 32 defeat at Villarreal CF.

• Pogrebnyak struck in the 63rd minute to give Zenit a slender advantage in Russia last Wednesday. It was Zenit's 100th goal in UEFA club competition. The 24-year-old Russian international has now scored in three of his last four UEFA Cup games.

• The victory was Zenit coach Dick Advocaat's first triumph against Spanish opposition in eight attempts stretching back to when his Netherlands Under-18 side lost 3-2 at home against Spain in 1993.

• In total, his record against Spanish sides reads played eight, won one, drawn two and lost five. His previous two games on Spanish soil as a coach have produced one draw and one defeat.

• The win extended Zenit's unbeaten home run in Europe to 22 games since losing 3-0 against Bologna FC in the UEFA Cup first round in September 1999. They have not lost a European home fixture since the turn of the century.

• It was Villarreal's first away defeat in the UEFA Cup this season. They had won all three of their previous away ties, scoring twice in each game. The defeat matched their worst ever loss in the competition – they have never gone down in a UEFA Cup game home or away by a margin of more than one goal.

• A 1-0 defeat at Everton FC in their final group stage game saw Zenit lose their first UEFA Cup away game of the season. It was the first time they had failed to score in seven European away ties.

• Villarreal have not lost a home game in the UEFA Cup this season. They have failed to score only twice in European home games, drawing 0-0 against Manchester United FC in the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League group stage and 0-0 against Arsenal FC in the semi-finals of the same competition.

• Zenit, the 2007 Russian champions, qualified for the Round of 32 by finishing third in Group A. Villarreal finished top of Group C.

• Zenit have now played seven games against Spanish opponents, winning two, drawing three and losing two. Both of their previous trips to Spain have ended in defeat, although they scored in each match.

• Villarreal have now played five games against Russian opponents, winning two, drawing one and losing two. They have won both of their home games against Russian sides without conceding a goal.

• Zenit midfielder Vladislav Radimov has some experience of Spanish football having played for Real Zaragoza between 1996 and 2000, interrupted by a 22-game spell with FC Dinamo Moskva in 1999.

• The aggregate winners will meet the victors of the tie between Olympique de Marseille and FC Spartak Moskva in the Round of 16 on 6 and 12/13 March, playing the second leg at home. Marseille are 3-0 up after the first leg in France.

• There is still the possibility of an all-Russian Round of 16 encounter between Zenit and Spartak.

• Zenit have Nicolas Lombaerts back after he served a one-match suspension but Aleksandr Anyukov, Pogrebnyak and Radek Šírl are within a caution of a ban. Joan Capdevila is the only Villarreal player within a yellow card of a suspension.

• Winter UEFA Cup registrations
Zenit: In – Roman Shirokov, Victor Fayzulin.
Out – Martin Škrtel, Erik Hagen, Philip Postnikov.
Villarreal: In – David Fuster, Edu Caballer.
Out – Juan Román Riquelme, Rio Antonio Mavuba.