Karpaty need to start charge at Sevilla

Only a win at Sevilla FC on Matchday 4 would definitely keep FC Karpaty Lviv's UEFA Europa League hopes alive with the Ukrainian side still to post a first point in a tough Group J.

• Defeat would leave Karpaty no chance of a top-two finish, while a draw − combined with Borussia Dortmund winning at Paris Saint-Germain FC − would leave them a slender hope.

Previous meetings
• The clubs met for the first time on Matchday 3 with Karpaty having never previously faced a Spanish side.

• Sevilla met FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the round of 16 en route to winning the 2006/07 UEFA Cup. In their only previous tie against a Ukrainian team, they drew 2-2 at home but won 3-2 in Donetsk after extra time.

• In that latter game, Sevilla goalkeeper Andrés Palop headed in from a corner deep into added time to make it 2-2 and force an extra half hour. Ernesto Chevantón scored their winner.

Match background
• Sevilla have lost their last three European home games since a 1-0 UEFA Champions League group stage win against Rangers FC on 9 December 2009.

• Karpaty have lost all three of their Group J games to date. Their only away wins in seven UEFA club competition trips to date came in the second and third qualifying rounds of this season's UEFA Europa League; they won 3-0 at KR Reykjavík and 1-0 at FC Zestafoni in Georgia.

• Karpaty set a new club record in the first leg against Sevilla, and will break it again on Matchday 4. This will be the latest date in any calendar year that they have played a UEFA club competition game. The 2-0 Matchday 2 loss to PSG came on the 40th anniversary of their previous latest date, a 3-3 draw at FC Steaua Bucureşti on 30 September 1970.

Team facts
• Sevilla have conceded an average of exactly one goal a game in their 97 UEFA club competition games to date.

• Both of Sevilla's goals in the group stage this season came before half-time.

• Karpaty are the most inexperienced club in the UEFA Europa League group stage; this is only their 12th game in the competition, and their 16th in Europe.

• Gregorio Manzano replaced Antonio Álvarez as Sevilla coach before the Matchday 2 win at Dortmund. A head coach since his mid-20s, he first took charge of a top division game with Real Valladolid CF in 1999/2000. He won the 2002/03 Spanish Cup in his first spell with RCD Mallorca, rejoining the club in 2006 for a four-year stint before leaving in May 2010.

• Born in Kursk, Russia, but Belarusian by nationality, Karpaty coach Oleg Kononov started his playing career with FC Iskra Smolensk before spending most of his career in Belarus, winning the nation's player of the year award in 1998, during his time at FC Torpedo Minsk. He took over at Karpaty in 2008 following a spell as assistant coach at FC Sheriff in Moldova.