Twente take on Russian champions Zenit

FC Twente will play host to Russian opponents for the second UEFA Europa League game in a row as 2008 UEFA Cup winners FC Zenit St Petersburg visit in the round of 16.

Previous meetings
• The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA club competition.

• Having never met a Russian team prior to 2011, Twente are facing Premier-Liga opposition for the second tie in succession, having beaten FC Rubin Kazan 4-2 over two legs in the round of 32, winning 2-0 in Russia then drawing 2-2 at home. Zenit ended Rubin's two-year spell as Russian champions in 2010.

• In Zenit's only previous game against a Dutch side, they drew 1-1 against AZ Alkmaar in a 2007/08 UEFA Cup group stage home fixture. Ari, who scored AZ's goal, now plays in Russia with FC Spartak Moskva.

Match background
• Twente are unbeaten in five European home games since a 1-0 UEFA Europa League group stage loss to Fenerbahçe SK on 2 December 2009, but all four of their home fixtures in Europe this season have ended in scoring draws: 2-2, 1-1, 3-3 and 2-2.

• Prior to their 2-1 loss at BSC Young Boys in the first leg of their round of 32 tie, Zenit had won their last three UEFA Europa League games away from home, scoring three goals in each of them.

Team facts
• Liverpool won the UEFA Cup three times (in 1973, 1976 and 2001) and are thus the most successful side left in this season's competition, though PSV Eindhoven (1978), Bayer 04 Leverkusen (1988), AFC Ajax (1992), FC Porto (2003), PFC CSKA Moskva (2005) and Zenit (2008) have also won it.

• Of the sides left in the last 16, Twente (1975), SL Benfica (1983) and Rangers FC (2008) have all been on the losing side in UEFA Cup finals.

• Twente boss Michel Preud'homme will not remember his only previous tie against Zenit with much fondness; he was sent to the stands as his R. Standard de Liège side lost 3-0 at the Petrovski Stadion in the first leg of a 2007/08 UEFA Cup first round tie. Manu Ferrera deputised for the suspended Preud'homme when they drew 1-1 back in Belgium.

• Zenit defender Nicholas Lombaerts is recovering from a knee injury and is likely to miss both legs of the Twente game, which would have seen him face fellow Belgians Bart Buysse and Nacer Chadli, not to mention Twente's Belgian coach Preud'homme.

• Zenit's Danko Lazović played in the Netherlands for Feyenoord, Vitesse and PSV Eindhoven between 2003 and 2010, with Twente midfielder Theo Janssen a team-mate of his at the Arnhem club in 2006/07.

• Zenit are the competition's top scorers with 22 goals in eight games since the start of the group stage. They have also been caught offside more than any of their rivals; 34 times in total.