Anderlecht in need of points as AEK visit

RSC Anderlecht will look to end a four-game wait for a European win when they meet AEK Athens FC in UEFA Europa League Group G, having twice drawn with the Greek side four years ago.

Previous meetings
• The clubs met in the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League group stage, with Frank Vercauteren's Anderlecht earning a 1-1 draw in Greece before Lorenzo Serra Ferrer's AEK secured a 2-2 tie in Brussels.

• The teams for their meeting in Brussels on 6 December 2006 were:
Anderlecht: Zítka, Deschacht*, Biglia*, Tchite, Hassan (Boussoufa*, 65), Goor, Juhász*, Pareja, Frutos (Legear*, 79), De Man, Vanden Borre.
AEK: Sorrentino, Cirillo, Kiriakidis (Lakis, 50), Manduca (Hetemaj, 58), Pautasso, Papastathopoulos, Zikos, Georgeas*, Liberopoulos*, Tözsér, Júlio César (Delibašić, 58).

* eligible to play in this game

Match background
• In total, Anderlecht's record in eight games against Greek sides reads W2 D4 L2 (W2 D2 L0 at home) while AEK are yet to win in six games against Belgian sides, with their record as follows: W0 D5 L1 (W0 D1 L1 in Belgium).

• Anderlecht are without a win in four European games, and lost both of their UEFA Europa League Group G openers.

• AEK have been victorious in only one of their last eight European away games. The 1-0 UEFA Europa League play-off victory at Dundee United FC was their first win on their travels since they prevailed by the same scoreline at FK Mladá Boleslav in the UEFA Cup group stage on 5 December 2007.

• That latter win remains their only victory in 20 UEFA Cup, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Champions League group stage away fixtures.

Team facts
• The next goal AEK let in will be the 150th they have conceded in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League. This will be their 101st game in the two competitions.

• AEK's Nacho Scocco has had more shots on target than any other player in the first two group stage games, but his seven efforts have netted him just one goal to date.

• A striker, largely for Diegem Sport, Ariël Jacobs worked with Belgium's youth teams before assisting Guy Thys as national team boss from 1986 to 1989. He won the Belgian Cup with RAA Louviéroise in 2003 and took sole command at Anderlecht in November 2007, following a spell as Vercauteren's assistant. He won his first league title with the club in 2009/10.

• AEK coach Dušan Bajević resigned before Matchday 2 in the wake of a 3-1 loss at promoted Olympiacos Volou FC, bringing to an end his third spell as the club's coach.

• Former Sevilla FC coach Manolo Jiménez was named as his replacement on 8 October. Capped 15 times by Spain, he represented Sevilla as a left-back from 1984 to 1997, returning as youth coach after retiring and then taking charge of the first team from October 2007 until his dismissal in March 2010.

• Jiménez visited Belgium as Sevilla coach in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup group stage, with his side losing 1-0 at R. Standard de Liège.

• AEK forward Rafik Djebbour played in Belgium with Louviéroise in the 2004/05 season, alongside goalkeeper Silvio Proto, who joined Anderlecht in the summer of 2005.