Smuda seeks Italian breakthrough with Lech

KKS Lech Poznań coach Franciszek Smuda is chasing his first aggregate victory over an Italian club in five attempts as his team prepare to take on Udinese Calcio in the UEFA Cup Round of 32.

• This will be the two sides' first meeting in European club competition.

• Smuda has faced Italian opposition eight times during his coaching career, with his record reading W2 D1 L5. His four games at home against visitors from Serie A have ended W2 D1 L1.

• Smuda came up against Udinese in the first round of the 1997/98 UEFA Cup, during his tenure as coach of RTS Widzew Łódź. His charges won 1-0 in Poland only to go down 3-0 in the return leg at the Friuli Stadium, with Udinese's goals coming from Oliver Bierhoff, Paolo Poggi and Tomas Locatelli.

• The current KKS Lech Poznań were founded in May 2006 via the merger of KS Amica Wronki and the original Lech Poznań. Lech have never faced Italian opposition in any of their guises.

• Udinese have played six games against Polish clubs in European competition and their record reads W4 D1 L1. They are unbeaten in their last five fixtures against Ekstraklasa sides, as well as in their last two matches on Polish soil.

• Peruvian striker Hernán Rengifo is Lech's top scorer in the competition with three goals since the first round. Bosnian midfielder Semir Stilić and forward Sławomir Peszko have also chipped in with two strikes apiece.

• Udinese's three-goal leading UEFA Cup scorer Fabio Quagliarella is the only player to have found the target more than once for the club in this season's competition.

• The original Lech were founded in 1922 as Lutnia Poznań. They were the Polish state railway team for many years, which earned them the nickname of the 'Kolejorz' (Railwaymen).

• The Lech in their name is a reference to Poland's mythical founder. According to legend, Lech, Čech and Rus were three brothers who founded the three Slavic nations of Poland, Bohemia and Ruthenia respectively.

• Udinese's roots can be traced to the founding of a football division by the Udine Gymnastics and Fencing Society in 1896. The club's black-and-white striped shirts have won them the nickname of the 'Zebrette' (Little Zebras).

• Lech are unbeaten in their last five European home fixtures, having picked up three wins in qualifying and two draws in the group stage. They have scored 17 and conceded just six over the course of these five matches.

• Udinese won their first two UEFA Cup away games of the campaign but lost their most recent, 2-0 at NEC Nijmegen.

• Former Polish international midfielder Marek Koźmiński spent five years at Udinese between 1992 and 1997.

• Lech's Sławomir Peszko is suspended for this game, and team-mates Manuel Arboleda, Semir Stilić and Zlatko Tanevski are within a booking of suspensions of their own, as is Udinese's Alexis Sánchez.

• January squad changes:-
Lech
Players added to squad list: Anderson Cueto, Gordan Golik, Haris Handžić.
Players removed from squad list: none.
Udinese
Players added to squad list: Kwadwo Asamoah, Nikidige Zimling.
Players removed from squad list: Alain Nef, Marco Motta.

• The victors of this tie will take on the winners of FC Zenit St. Petersburg v VfB Stuttgart in the Round of 16 on 12 and 18/19 March, and will play the first leg at home.