Zulte Waregem zero in on Maribor

SV Zulte Waregem and NK Maribor are both looking to put an end to unwanted records when they meet on matchday three in UEFA Europa League Group D.

Previous meetings
• The two teams are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition and this is Zulte Waregem's first encounter with Slovenian opponents.

• Maribor have played four games against Belgian sides, with their record reading W1 D0 L3 (W1 D0 L1 at home – W0 D0 L2 in Belgium). Current coach Ante Šimundža was among the scorers as they beat KRC Genk 5-1 at home in the first of those matches, but they have lost their subsequent three games against Belgian opponents, including home and away encounters with Club Brugge KV in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League group stage.

Match background
• Zulte Waregem have not won in their last five European home games (D2 L3), with two draws this season following a run of three straight defeats in which they conceded nine goals and scored just one.

• Zulte Waregem's 4-0 loss at FC Rubin Kazan on matchday two matched their worst margin of defeat in a European game, set when they lost 6-2 at RCD Espanyol in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup group stage.

• Zulte Waregem made it through their only previous group stage campaign in 2006/07, bowing out to Newcastle United FC in the round of 32. However, KSV Waregem – who merged with Zultse VV to form Zulte Waregem in 2001 – enjoyed even more European success, reaching the semi-finals of the 1985/86 UEFA Cup before losing out to 1. FC Köln.

• Following a 5-2 home loss to Rubin on matchday one and a 3-1 matchday two defeat at Wigan Athletic FC, Maribor have now not won in six European games (D2 L4). They made it through this season's UEFA Champions League third qualifying round on away goals following two draws against APOEL FC, before losing home and away to FC Viktoria Plzeň in the play-offs.

• Maribor have reached the group stage of a major UEFA competition for the fourth time but have yet to progress through to the knockout rounds. They failed to record a victory when they made their UEFA Europa League group stage debut in 2011/12 but improved on that with a four-point haul last season.

Team facts
• Maribor have the leakiest defence in the group stage, having conceded eight goals on the first two matchdays.

• Maribor forward Tavares is the most fouled player so far, having been impeded ten times in two games – three more fouls than nearest rivals Clément Grenier of Olympique Lyonnais, Swansea City AFC's Wilfried Bony and FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk's Yevhen Konoplyanka have suffered.

• Zulte Waregem are one of five sides yet to score in this season's group stage along with FC Anji Makhachkala, Legia Warszawa, APOEL FC and FC Kuban Krasnodar.

• Domestic double winners Maribor are one of nine domestic champions and 11 domestic cup winners in this season's UEFA Europa League group stage.

Coach information
• Coach Francky Dury returned to Zulte Waregem at the end of 2011, and came close to leading them to a first title last season. A policeman while playing as a midfielder with amateur side Hulste Sport, he coached Zultse VV and became the new side's first coach when they merged with KSV Waregem to become Zulte Waregem in 2001. He finally handed in his police badge in 2007, having steered the club to the top division and won the 2005/06 Belgian Cup.

• Maribor dismissed their Croatian coach Ante Čačić ahead of matchday two after just four months in charge, having secured just one win in their previous six games. Čačić and AZ Alkmaar's Gertjan Verbeek were dismissed on the same day, making them the first coaching casualties of the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League group stage.

• Maribor hired Ante Šimundža as their new coach, with the 42-year-old leaving NK Aluminij to return to the club he played over 200 games for as a striker. Capped three times by Slovenia, he played abroad with BSC Young Boys, Malmö FF and RAA Louvièroise, returning to Maribor as assistant to Darko Milanič. He subsequently took sole command of ND Mura 05, Austrian side Grazer AK and then Aluminij.