Spring brings hope for Standard and Salzburg

R. Standard de Liège and FC Salzburg lock horns again in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 a decade after their first competitive meeting, with both looking to end long waits for a springtime victory in Europe.

Previous meetings
• Standard and Salzburg met in the third round of the 2000 UEFA Intertoto Cup, with the Belgian side, under Tomislav Ivić, prevailing with a 3-1 win at home and 1-1 draw away to Hans Backe's side in Austria.

• The teams for their previous meeting in Liege on 15 July 2000 were:
Standard: Runje, Ernst, Selymes, Van Buyten, Meyssen, Brocken, Pierre, Dragutinović (Oussalah, 84), Lukunku, Yobo (El Yamani, 46), Ciobotariu.
Salzburg: Sáfár, Jank, Pamminger (Kitzbichler, 73), Szewczyk, Struber (Karasek, 58), Hobel (Sabitzer, 65), Cárcamo, Aufhauser, Früstük, Silberberger, Laessig.

• Newly-reappointed Standard coach Domenico D'Onofrio was also on the bench for that game as Ivić's assistant.

Match background
• Standard had previously faced FC Wacker Innsbruck in the 1986/87 UEFA Cup, losing out on away goals despite a 3-2 home win in the return leg. Thus their record in four games against Austrian sides is W2 D1 L1 (W2 D0 L0 at home).

• Salzburg have played two-legged ties against two other Belgian sides, beating R. Antwerp FC in the 1993/94 UEFA Cup second round but losing to RSC Anderlecht in the first round of the 1997/98 competition. Their record in six games against Belgian clubs is W3 D1 L2 (W1 D0 L2 in Belgium).

• Standard reached last season's UEFA Cup round of 32 but were eliminated by SC Braga. That game represented their first appearance in the spring stages of a UEFA club competition since 1981/82, when they lost 2-1 to FC Barcelona in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final.

• Standard have lost just one of their last ten European home games, going down 3-2 to Arsenal FC in this season's UEFA Champions League group stage.

• This is Salzburg's first springtime European fixture since they lost 1-0 to FC Internazionale Milano in the 1993/94 UEFA Cup final.

• Salzburg have won five of their last six European away games, with only a 3-0 loss at Maccabi Haifa FC in this season's UEFA Champions League play-offs breaking their winning run.

Team facts
• László Bölöni resigned as Standard coach last Wednesday due to disappointing domestic results, and was replaced by the 56-year-old D'Onofrio, who is embarking on his third spell as the club's coach following a stint as sporting director.

• D'Onofrio's most recent European game in charge was one he would prefer to forget; a 7-1 home defeat against Athletic Club Bilbao in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup group stage.

• Salzburg's Dutch coach Huub Stevens led his FC Schalke 04 side into four games against Belgian opponents in the late 1990s, winning three and losing one (W1 D0 L1 on Belgian soil).

• Stevens also faced Belgium as a Netherlands player, featuring in a 1-0 friendly victory in 1979.

• Salzburg's Nigerian defender Rabiou Afolabi scored two goals in 89 league games for Standard between 1997 and 2003. His surname translates as 'born into wealth'.

• The second leg is in Salzburg on 25 February with the winners to face the victors of the tie between Panathinaikos FC and AS Roma in the round of 16 on 11 and 18 March, playing the second leg at home.

Standard
Suspended: Mehdi Carcela-González
Misses next match if booked: none
Players added to squad: Pape Abdou Camara, Gheorge Grozav, Sebastien Pocognoli
Players removed from squad: Arnor Angeli, Cédric Collet, Tiago

Salzburg
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: Nikola Pokrivač, Franz Schiemer, Christian Schwegler
Players added to squad: Roman Wallner, Karel Piták
Players removed from squad: Patrik Ježek, Djordje Rakić