Ventspils aim to break Riga jinx

FK Ventspils need to break their duck in European games in the Latvian capital, Riga, as they look to force their way back into UEFA Europa League round of 32 reckoning against Hertha BSC Berlin.

• Defeat would put an end to Ventspils' hopes of a place in the knockout phase, while Hertha would advance through to the next round if a win coincides with defeat for SC Heerenveen in the night's other Group D game at Sporting Clube de Portugal.

Previous meetings
• Ventspils held Hertha to a surprise 1-1 draw in Berlin in their first meeting on Matchday 1. That was Hertha's first game against Latvian opposition. Group-stage debutants Ventspils have hosted German opposition before, losing 4-1 to VfB Stuttgart in a 2002/03 UEFA Cup first-round tie.

Match background
• With their usual home ground too small to host UEFA Europa League group-stage games, Ventspils are playing at the Skonto Stadium in Riga, where they have yet to win in six attempts. Their previous results at the stadium comprise five defeats and Matchday 2's 0-0 draw against Heerenveen.

• Playing home games in the capital has never suited Ventspils. They have lost only one of their 14 UEFA club competition matches in Ventspils, but have not won in seven ties in Riga – six at the Skonto Stadium and one at the Daugava Stadium.

• Matchday 4's 3-2 triumph at Heerenveen gave Hertha a crucial head-to-head advantage over the Dutch side and ended a five-match wait for a European away success, during which they scored just once and conceded seven times.

Team facts
• Founded with the merger of FK Venta and FK Nafta in 1997, Ventspils made a surprise change of coach after they reached the UEFA Champions League play-offs. Italian Nunzio Zavettieri – a former AC Milan and FC Internazionale Milano youth coach and one-time assistant at Udinese Calcio – took over from Ukrainian Roman Grygorchuk, who had led them to three consecutive Virsliga titles.

• Ventspils lost the Latvian crown on 1 November, with a 1-1 stalemate against SK Liepājas Metalurgs handing the 2009 title to their opponents, who are coached by former West Germany striker Rüdiger Abramczik.

• Friedhelm Funkel is taking charge of his third UEFA Europa League game with Hertha since being named as the club's new coach. A striker at FC Bayer 05 Uerdingen and 1. FC Kaiserslautern, he has coached Uerdingen, MSV Duisburg, FC Hansa Rostock, 1. FC Köln and – from 2004 until earlier this year – Eintracht Frankfurt.

• Hertha had a different coach for their first two Group D games. Lucien Favre was in charge for the 1-1 draw against Ventspils, while his stand-in replacement Karsten Heine was on the bench for the 1-0 loss at Sporting.

• Ventspils' towering Cameroonian defender Jean-Paul Ndeki started his career as a youth player at Eintracht Frankfurt. He played for lower league side Borussia Fulda before leaving for Latvia in 2004.

• Ventspils' Azamat Baimatov turns 20 on the day of the match.

• Ventspils and FC Shakhtar Donetsk boast the best disciplinary records in the competition ahead of Matchday 5, with just two yellow cards each.

• Hertha host Sporting on Matchday 6, with Ventspils visiting Heerenveen on the same night, 16 December.