Spartak seek to put an end to NEC hopes

A win at home against NEC Nijmegen could propel FC Spartak Moskva to the UEFA Cup Round of 32 with a match to spare, but their Dutch guests will be in no mood to capitulate as they seek to leave themselves with something to play for on Matchday 5.

• Spartak are third in the section following a 1-0 win at NK Dinamo Zagreb, and would be sure of a place in the last 32 if a victory against NEC coincided with Dinamo failing to win at Udinese Calcio in Matchday 4's other Group D tie.

• NEC's situation is dire. Beaten at home by Tottenham Hotspur FC last time out, they have no points after two games, and will have no chance of qualifying if they lose in Moscow.

• This is Spartak and NEC's first meeting in UEFA club competition.

• Spartak have played 14 games against clubs from the Netherlands in the past, with their record reading an impressive W9 D4 L1. Their seven home games against Dutch opposition have ended in five wins and two draws, with both of their most recent home meetings with Eredivisie sides ending in ties.

• NEC are making their first competitive trip to Russia, but coach Mario Been came up against Spartak during his time as Bert van Marwijk's assistant at Feyenoord. The Rotterdam side drew 2-2 in Moscow in a 2001/02 UEFA Champions League first group-stage match, winning the corresponding fixture at De Kuip 2-1.

• Spartak have not won a home game in three attempts in Europe this season, succumbing to two defeats either side of a 1-1 UEFA Cup first-round draw against FC Baník Ostrava.

• NEC have not won a European away fixture in their last five outings, a run which stretches back to 1983, when they won their first ever UEFA competition game on their travels 1-0 at SK Brann in the first round of the 1983/84 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

• That game saw current NEC assistant coach Ron de Groot line up as a player for the Nijmegen side.

• Spartak's last home win against Dutch opposition came in the second leg of the 1997/98 UEFA Cup quarter-finals, as they beat an AFC Ajax side featuring the Russian club's current boss Michael Laudrup 1-0.

• Laudrup has coached previous sides in a pair of two-legged ties against Dutch opponents. His Brøndby IF team drew 2-2 at home against AFC Ajax in the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, but lost the away leg 3-1.

• Then, as coach of Getafe CF, he came up against FC Twente in the first round of last season's UEFA Cup, winning 1-0 at home and losing 3-2 away to progress to the group stage on away goals.

• As coach of Getafe and now Spartak, Laudrup has lost two of his three UEFA Cup group-stage home ties 2-1, winning the other by the same margin.

• Spartak's Radoslav Kováč is serving a one-match ban while NEC's Lorenzo Davids is within a booking of a one-match suspension.

• Udinese play Dinamo in Wednesday's other Group D game. Tottenham are the only side in the section not in action on Matchday 4.

• The draw for the UEFA Cup Round of 32 and Round of 16 will be held at UEFA Headquarters in Nyon on Friday 19 December at 13.00CET. Group winners will be paired with third-placed sides from other UEFA Cup sections, while second-placed finishers will be drawn against one of the eight clubs who finished third in the UEFA Champions League groups. The UEFA Cup group winners and runners-up will play the second leg at home. Teams from the same association cannot be drawn against each other.