Timişoara hoping to ignite home fires

Beaten 3-0 by NK Dinamo Zagreb on Matchday 2, FC Timişoara will look to break their home duck in European competition against RSC Anderlecht, who top Group A after taking four points from their opening two fixtures.

Previous meetings
• The sides have never met, nor have Timişoara – or indeed FC Politehnica Timişoara – met Belgian opponents before. Anderlecht are visiting Romania for an eighth time, with their record in their hosts' nation reading W2 D2 L3. They have avoided defeat in their last four games in Romania, drawing their two most recent fixtures.

Match background
• Timişoara are still waiting for a first home win in UEFA club competition. Their previous four European games at the Dan Păltinişanu Stadium have ended in a draw and three defeats.

• They have also gone three European home matches without scoring. Gheorghe Bucur is still the only Timişoara player to have struck at the stadium in continental competition, registering 25 minutes into a 2-1 defeat by FK Partizan in last season's UEFA Cup first round.

• Anderlecht beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 in Croatia in their sole group stage away game this season. They have scored at least once in their last nine UEFA club competition away games.

Team facts
• Timişoara coach Ioan Ovidiu Sabău played in both legs for FC Dinamo 1948 Bucureşti against Anderlecht in the semi-final of the 1989/90 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. The Belgian side won 1-0 home and away, but lost 2-0 to UC Sampdoria in the Gothenburg final.

• Capped 52 times by Romanian, former midfielder Sabău is in his first season as Timişoara coach. As a player, he won Romanian titles with Dinamo and FC Rapid Bucureşti and played abroad with Feyenoord (winning two Dutch Cups), Brescia Calcio and AC Reggiana.

• Anderlecht coach Ariël Jacobs knows Timişoara's Daré Nibombé well, having coached the Togolese defender at RAA Louviéroise in the 2002/03 season, when the club won the Belgian Cup, their only major domestic honour. Nibombé would go on to spend five more years in Belgium with RAEC Mons.

• SL Benfica are the only side playing in the UEFA Europa League group stage who have contested more games in Europe than Anderlecht. This will be Anderlecht's 311th UEFA club competition contest, while Benfica are preparing for their 312th.

• Anderlecht are two goals short of their 500th in UEFA club competition, but are also two shy of conceding their 400th.

• Timişoara's Bucur goes into the match having been ruled offside six times in the opening two UEFA Europa League group stage fixtures; only FC Basel 1893's Marco Streller can match that unfortunate tally.

• The two sides meet again in Brussels on 5 November for Matchday 4.