Solna seek solace from Dnipro visit

AIK Solna will look to pick themselves up following a punishing start in UEFA Europa League Group F as FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk make their first trip to Sweden.

Previous meetings
• The clubs are meeting for the first time. AIK have never met a Ukrainian team before, and Dnipro have never played against Swedish opponents.

• Six previous ties have been played between Swedish and Ukrainian sides in UEFA competition, with the Ukrainian teams having marginally the better of them with the record W2 D3 L1 (W1 D2 L0 at home – W1 D1 L1 in Sweden).

• The most recent of those fixtures came in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League group stage, where FC Metalist Kharkiv beat Malmö FF 4-1 away and 3-1 at home.

Match background
• AIK have won only one of their last five European home games, with that run including two draws and two defeats.

• Following their 2-0 win against PSV Eindhoven on matchday one, Dnipro are unbeaten in four European games, though they have not won in six UEFA away games since a 4-2 UEFA Cup second qualifying round triumph at GKS Bełchatów on 30 August 2007.

• AIK's 4-0 loss at SSC Napoli on matchday one was their heaviest away from home in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League.

• AIK are playing in the group stage of this competition for the first time, but played in the UEFA Champions League group stage under Englishman Stuart Baxter in 1999/2000.

• This is Dnipro's third UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League group stage campaign.

Team facts
• AIK's Ivan Turina celebrates his 32nd birthday on the eve of the game.

• Dnipro's Ghanaian midfielder Derek Boateng played for AIK (2003–06), going through a relegation and a promotion before leaving for Beitar Jerusalem FC.

• AIK coach since December 2010, Andreas Alm played for Stockholm rivals Hammarby IF before coming to his current club as a striker (2000–03). After hanging up his boots, Alm worked as a TV summariser and then joined the coaching staff at AIK, helping them to win a 2009 domestic double under Mikael Stahre, and assisted two further coaches before taking sole command.

• Juande Ramos famously won the UEFA Cup in successive seasons with Sevilla in 2005/06 and 2006/07, with the one-time lower-league midfielder going on to win the English League Cup at Tottenham Hotspur FC and then take charge of Real Madrid CF and (for just 47 days) PFC CSKA Moskva. He has been in command at Dnipro since October 2010.