Sampdoria hope to avoid deja vu at Metalist

FC Metalist Kharkiv will look for a repeat performance as they host UC Sampdoria in UEFA Europa League Group I, having eliminated the Genoa side the last time they met.

Previous meetings
• Myron Markevich's Metalist knocked out Sampdoria, then coached by Walter Mazzarri, from the 2008/09 UEFA Cup in the round of 32, winning 1-0 in Genoa and 2-0 in Ukraine.

• The teams for their last meeting at the Metalist Stadium on 26 February 2009 were:
Metalist: Goriainov, Maidana, Obradović*, Papa Gueye*, Gancarczyk, Valyayev*, Sliusar, Edmar*, Rykun (Dević*, 57), Jajá (Bordian*, 78), Oliynyk* (Berezovchuk*, 86).
Sampdoria: Mirante, Campagnaro, Gastaldello*, Da Costa, Padalino* (Mustacchio, 82), Sammarco* (Pieri, 65), Stankevičius (Franceschini, 63), Dessena*, Ziegler*, Bellucci, Marilungo*.

*eligible to play in this match

Match background
• Metalist have never played any other Italian sides in Europe, while they are also the only Ukrainian team that Sampdoria have ever come up against.

• Metalist have not won in their last three European home games, but kicked off their Group I campaign with a stunning 5-0 win at Debreceni VSC.

• Prior to their 2-0 defeat by PSV Eindhoven on Matchday 2, Metalist had not conceded a single goal in their five UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage games.

• Sampdoria are unbeaten in their last three European games, but have not won on their travels in four fixtures since a 2-1 victory at FK Partizan in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup group stage.

Team facts
• Sampdoria have the best goals-to-shots ratio in the group stage; they have had only three attempts on target, but have scored twice.

• Metalist's Olexandr Romanchuk celebrates his 26th birthday on the day of the game against Sampdoria.

• Myron Markevich has been coach of Metalist since summer 2005, briefly combining his job with that of Ukraine coach before stepping down to focus on his club duties in summer 2010. Having retired as a player at 28, he reached new heights after moving to Kharkiv, leading the club to four successive third-place league finishes from 2006/07 onwards – the best results in their history – as well as European success.

• Domenico Di Carlo took over as Sampdoria coach in the summer after serving his coaching apprenticeship at Mantova FC, Parma FC and AC Chievo Verona. A defensive midfielder in his playing days, he spent the best years of his career with Vicenza Calcio, returning to the northern club after retirement to work with the youth team.