Twente bid to end 30 years of hurt

FC Twente will be looking to win their first springtime European fixture in over 30 years when last season's losing UEFA Cup finalists Werder Bremen visit the Netherlands in the UEFA Europa League round of 32.

Previous meetings
• The two sides have never met in a competitive fixture. Twente have played 11 games against German sides previously and their record is W1 D4 L6 (W1 D2 L3 at home). Bremen have fared little better in their ten matches against Dutch opposition, their record reading W2 D3 L5 (W0 D1 L4 in the Netherlands).

• The teams met in a friendly in Enschede on 1 August 2000 organised as a benefit for victims of an explosion in a local fireworks factory in May that year. With Sander Boschker in goal for Twente – and Thomas Schaaf coaching Bremen – the game ended 1-1.

Match background
• Twente lost to Olympique de Marseille in last season's UEFA Cup round of 32. It was their first appearance in the spring section of a UEFA club competition since 1977/78, when they reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, losing to RSC Anderlecht.

• Twente's record in ten UEFA club competition home games under Steve McClaren reads W5 D2 L3.

• Bremen are unbeaten in their last 11 European away games, discounting the 2008/09 UEFA Cup final which they lost 2-1 to FC Shakhtar Donetsk on neutral ground in Istanbul.

• Schaaf's side have won seven of their eight European fixtures this season, drawing the other. Their aggregate score from these matches is an impressive 24-9, meaning they are averaging three goals a game.

Team facts
• Bremen's Peter Niemeyer knows Twente well, the German-born centre-back having started his career with the Dutch club, scoring four goals in 106 Eredivisie appearances between 2002 and 2007, when he joined Werder.

• Aside from Niemeyer, three other Bremen players have Eredivisie experience – Petri Pasanen and Markus Rosenberg both played for AFC Ajax while Daniel Jensen started his career at SC Heerenveen.

• Pasanen and Twente goalkeeper Boschker were team-mates at Ajax in 2003/04, while Rosenberg and Kenneth Perez played together at the Amsterdam ArenA in the 2006/07 season.

• Twente's Swiss international striker Blaise Nkufo has Bundesliga experience, having represented 1. FSV Mainz 05 and Hannover 96.

• Twente midfielder Theo Janssens faced Bremen with BV Vitesse in the second round of the 2002/03 UEFA Cup, with his side progressing thanks to a 2-1 win in Arnhem and a 3-3 draw away.

• Twente's Perez came up against Werder with Ajax in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup round of 32, with the German side prevailing 4-3 on aggregate.

• Twente coach McClaren faced Bundesliga opposition in the 2005/06 UEFA Cup round of 32, with his Middlesbrough FC side eliminating VfB Stuttgart on away goals after a 2-1 win in Germany and a 1-0 home defeat. Boro went on to reach the final, losing 4-0 to Sevilla FC in Eindhoven.

• McClaren was Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant coach at Manchester United FC when they beat FC Bayern München in the 1998/99 UEFA Champions League final.

• With just five goals, Twente were the lowest-scoring side to make it through the UEFA Europa League group stage.

• Bremen were the highest-scoring side in the UEFA Europa League group stage with 17 goals.

• The second leg is in Bremen on 25 February with the winners to face the victors of the tie between Club Brugge KV and Valencia CF in the round of 16 on 11 and 18 March, playing the second leg at home.

Twente
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: Miroslav Stoch
Players added to squad: Dwight Tiendalli, Wellington
Players removed from squad: Nikita Rukavytsya, Jeroen Heubach, Lesley Nahrwold

Bremen
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: Philipp Bargfrede, Sebastian Boenisch, Aaron Hunt, Daniel Jensen, Markus Rosenberg
Players added to squad: Aymen Abdonnour, Sandro Wagner, Said Husejinović
Players removed from squad: Torsten Oehri, Jurica Vranjes, Marcelo Moreno