Udinese look to deny Lech

KKS Lech Poznań coach Franciszek Smuda will be hoping to clinch his first aggregate victory over an Italian club in five attempts when his team visit Udinese Calcio in the second leg of their UEFA Cup Round of 32 tie.

• The first leg of this tie was the two sides' first meeting in European club competition. Udinese led 2-0 with ten minutes to go following a Fabio Quagliarella strike and a Manuel Arboleda own goal, but Hernán Rengifo pulled one back for the Polish outfit before Arboleda registered at the right end this time to make it 2-2.

• Smuda has now faced Italian opposition nine times during his coaching career and recorded W2 D2 L5. However, all four matches on Italian soil ended in defeat.

• 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. Before the first leg, Lech had never faced Italian opposition in any of their guises.

• Udinese have now played seven games against Polish clubs in European competition and their record reads W4 D2 L1. They are unbeaten in their last six fixtures against Ekstraklasa sides.

• 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).

• Udinese have won their last two UEFA Cup home games.

• A 1-0 success at Feyenoord in their final UEFA Cup Group H encounter ended Lech's run of three European away games without a win.

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

• Udinese were involved in their debut UEFA competition penalty shoot-out in the first round of this season's UEFA Cup. They beat BV Borussia Dortmund 4-3 on penalties at home after a 2-2 aggregate draw.

• Lech have not been involved in a UEFA competition shoot-out in their current incarnation. That said, Amica did win 5-4 on penalties at Budapest Honvéd FC in the second qualifying round of the 2004/05 UEFA Cup after a 1-1 aggregate draw. The original Lech Poznań, for their part, were beaten 5-4 on spot-kicks by eventual winners FC Barcelona after a 2-2 aggregate scoreline in the second round of the 1988/89 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

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

• Udinese's four-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.

• Udinese's Alexis Sánchez is suspended for this match, while team-mate Maurizio Domizzi is also within a booking of a ban, as are Lech's Arboleda, Stilić and Zlatko Tanevski. Peszko is available again after serving a suspension.

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