Dinamo aiming to end long wait at Villarreal

Villarreal CF will look to deny NK Dinamo Zagreb a place in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 as the sides reconvene in Group D, with the Croatian club eager to qualify for the knockout phase at the fifth attempt.

• Dinamo will go through if they win. Villarreal will be out if they lose and PAOK FC beat Club Brugge KV in Greece.

Previous meetings
• Ante Rukavina and Sammir were on target as Dinamo beat Villarreal 2-0 when the sides met for the first time in Zagreb on Matchday 1. It was Villarreal's first experience of Croatian opposition.

• Prior to Matchday 1, four games against Club Atlético de Madrid represented the entirety of Dinamo's experience of Spanish opposition; their record against Liga sides now reads W1 D1 L3 (W0 D0 L2 in Spain). They have yet to score a goal on Spanish soil.

Match background
• Villarreal have won all three of their European home games this season, and factoring in a 2-2 draw with VfL Wolfsburg from last term's UEFA Europa League round of 32, have yet to lose at home in Europe under their current coach, Juan Carlos Garrido.

• Dinamo have lost only once in their last four away games, conceding twice and scoring five times. They have been alternating wins and defeats for their last six UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage away fixtures, and if that run is to continue, they are due a defeat in Spain.

• Dinamo are competing in their fourth successive group stage, having missed out on this phase only twice since the introduction of the format in 2004/05. However, they have yet to qualify for a place in the round of 32 via the group stage.

• Villarreal also competed in last season's UEFA Europa League group stage, losing out to Wolfsburg in the round of 32.

Team facts
• Up until February 2010, Juan Carlos Garrido was the long-serving coach of Villarreal's reserve side. He replaced Ernesto Valverde at the helm of the first team and duly secured qualification for Europe. More strong performances in the autumn saw his contract with the club extended until June 2014.

• Dinamo are coached by Bosnian-born Vahid Halilhodžić, once a striker for Yugoslavia. Having shone at FK Velež, he spent the latter part of his playing career in France with FC Nantes – winning the 1982/83 Ligue 1 title – and Paris Saint-Germain FC. He would lead the latter to French Cup success as a coach in 2004. The much-travelled trainer took the helm in Zagreb in August.

• Halilhodžić's only games against Spanish sides as a coach prior to the first meeting with Villarreal were a pair of 1-1 group draws against RC Deportivo La Coruña in the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League while he was in charge of LOSC Lille Métropole.