Spartak aim for more Ajax success

FC Spartak Moskva welcome AFC Ajax to Russia for their UEFA Europa League round of 16 decider sporting a good record against their visitors as they defend a 1-0 first-leg advantage.

• A clinical second-half hit from Alex on a night of Ajax misses earned Spartak their success on Thursday.

Previous meetings
• Ajax coach Frank de Boer and his assistant Danny Blind were starters in both legs of the clubs' only previous competitive tie as Oleg Romantsev's Spartak beat Morten Olsen's Ajax 3-1 away and 1-0 at home to reach the 1997/98 UEFA Cup semi-finals, where they lost out to FC Internazionale Milano.

• The teams for the return leg in Moscow on 17 March 1998 – 13 years to the day before the second leg of this fixture – were:
Spartak: Filimonov, Khlestov, Ananko, Evseev, Romaschenko, Alenichev, Titov, Kechinov, Tikhonov, Shirko, Buznikin (Tsymbalar 45).
Ajax: Van der Sar, Melchiot, Blind, Oliseh, Frank de Boer (Sier 32), Ronald de Boer, Gorre (McCarthy 75), Rudy, Van der Meyde (Litmanen 60), Arveladze, Laudrup.

• Andrei Tikhonov, who also started both legs, is now one of coach Valeri Karpin's assistants at Spartak.

Match background
• Prior to the first leg, Spartak had not won in their last four games against Dutch sides, recording two draws and two defeats since beating Willem II 3-1 in Tilburg in a UEFA Champions League group stage game on 26 October 1999.

• Spartak are the only Russian side Ajax have ever faced, but the Premier-Liga club have played 13 other games against Dutch opponents, with their overall record reading W10 D4 L2 (W5 D2 L1 at home).

• Spartak have lost only one of their last eight games on their travels in Europe, winning six and drawing one; a 4-1 defeat at Chelsea FC on UEFA Champions League Matchday 4 this season blotted their copybook.

• Prior to the sides' opener, Ajax had won their last three European games without conceding. Their record at home in UEFA club competition this season now reads W3 D2 L2.

• Spartak are without a win in their last three European home contests, recording a draw, two defeats and just one goal at the Luzhniki Stadion since beating MŠK Žilina 3-0 on Matchday 2 of the UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Ajax have won their last two European away games without conceding, and have yet to lose in six UEFA Europa League fixtures on their travels since the competition evolved from the UEFA Cup.

Team facts
• This is the only round of 16 tie to involve two sides that competed in the UEFA Champions League group stage in the autumn.

• Liverpool FC 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), Ajax (1992), FC Porto (2003), PFC CSKA Moskva (2005) and FC Zenit St Petersburg (2008) have also won it.

• Spartak's Brazilian striker Ari played in the Netherlands for AZ Alkmaar from 2007 to 2010, and scored in a 2-0 Eredivisie win against Ajax on 23 November 2008. He also put AZ ahead at the Amsterdam ArenA on 13 January 2008, but his side went on to lose that league game 6-1.

• Ajax are two goals shy of conceding their 100th in the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Cup; this is their 106th game in the competition. They have more UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League experience than any other side in the round of 16.

• Spartak's Glasgow-born Irish international Aiden McGeady is one of two Irish players left in the competition along with Manchester City FC's Shay Given. This season's UEFA Europa League final will be staged in Dublin on 18 May.

Penalties
• Spartak have won one European penalty shoot-out and lost another. Current coach Karpin was among the scorers as SSC Napoli were eliminated from the 1990/91 European Champion Clubs' Cup second round at the Luzhniki, but they lost a 2007/08 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie against Celtic FC with a 4-3 spot-kicks defeat in Glasgow.

• Ajax have won only one of their five UEFA penalty shoot-outs, beating Grêmio FB Porto-Alegrense 4-3 in Tokyo to win the 1995 European/South American Cup; current coach De Boer and his assistant Blind were among their scorers. However, they lost the 1996 UEFA Champions League final on penalties to Juventus (4-2 in Rome) having also lost shoot-outs at PFC Levski Sofia (5-3 away), Bohemians 1905 (formerly FC Bohemians Praha, 4-2 away) and Juventus again (3-0 away).