Steaua look to avenge Maccabi Haifa loss

FC Steaua Bucureşti will look to recover from a heavy 5-0 loss at Maccabi Haifa FC when the sides meet again in UEFA Europa League Group J.

Previous meetings
• The clubs met for the first time in UEFA competition on matchday three in what was Steaua's first tie against Israeli opposition. The 5-0 defeat matched Steaua's previous worst defeats in UEFA competition – against Montpellier Hérault SC in the 1990/91 UEFA Cup Winnners' Cup and Paris Saint-Germain FC in the 1997/98 UEFA Champions League.

• Weaam Amasha (10, 20) put Maccabi ahead, with Yaniv Katan (38) making it 3-0 from the penalty spot following Eric Bicfalvi's dismissal. Valentin Iliev was sent off on 64 minutes, with goals from Taleb Twatha (72) and Idan Vered (79) completing a miserable European coaching debut for new Steaua boss Ilie Stan.

• Maccabi took on ACF Gloria 1922 Bistriţa in the 2007 UEFA Intertoto Cup; they lost the home leg 2-0, won away by the same margin but were then eliminated after a penalty shoot-out, 3-2.

• Maccabi are the only Israeli side to have beaten a Romanian counterpart in UEFA competition. In nine games between clubs of the two nations, there have been two draws and five wins for teams from Romania. Maccabi's matchday three success and the Gloria victory account for the wins by Israeli outfits.

• Israeli and Romanian sides met earlier in this season's UEFA Europa League group stage, with FC Rapid Bucureşti triumphing 1-0 at Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC in Group C on matchday one.

Match background
• Unbeaten in seven home games since a 1-0 loss to Fenerbahçe SK in the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League group stage, the hosts have been alternating draws and wins at the Steaua Stadium; should that pattern continue they are due another win against Maccabi Haifa.

• Maccabi have not won in eight games (one draw and seven defeats) on their travels in Europe since beating FC Salzburg 2-1 in the UEFA Champions League play-offs on 19 August 2009.

Team facts
• Steaua have the worst disciplinary record in the competition, having had three players sent off since the start of the group stage. The have also picked up seven bookings in their three group stage matches so far.

• Steaua, AEK Larnaca FC, ŠK Slovan Bratislava and FC Vorskla Poltava are the lowest scoring sides in the group stage, with one goal each going into matchday four.

• The next goal Steaua concede will be their 100th in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League. This will be their 88th game in the two competitions.

• Steaua's defender Geraldo Alves and Maccabi's midfielder Seidu Yahaya were both on the books at AEK Athens FC from 2007 to 2010. Alves made 44 appearances and Yahaya just three; with neither player finding the net during their time in Greece.

• Steaua's Montenegrin forward Stefan Nikolić and Maccabi's Serbian goalkeeper Bojan Šaranov were both registered with OFK Beograd in the 2007/08 season, though Šaranov was loaned out for much of that campaign and Nikolić never featured for the Serbian side.

• Having previously led FC Ashdod in the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup, Elisha Levi won league titles with Maccabi in 2008/09 and 2010/11 and took them through a UEFA Champions League group stage campaign in 2008/09. However his side struggled, finishing bottom of a group they shared with FC Bayern München, Olympique Lyonnais and ACF Fiorentina, picking up just one point along the way.

• Levi would have been up against another Israeli coach had Roni Levy not resigned as Steaua boss in the wake of their 1-1 draw at AEK Larnaca FC on matchday two.

• New Steaua boss Ilie Stan spent the bulk of his playing career as a midfielder with the club (1987-95 and 1997), venturing abroad to represent KSV Cercle Brugge, AEL Limassol FC and Israeli sides Hapoel Petach-Tikva FC and Hapoel Tzafririm FC. He was briefly assistant coach of Romania in 2002 and 2004, and led FC Victoria Brăneşti to Romania's top flight with back-to-back promotions before resigning in April 2011.