PAOK and AZ's outstanding issue

PAOK FC and AZ Alkmaar are both through to the UEFA Europa League round of 32 but top spot in Group L is yet to be definitively claimed as they meet on matchday six.

• The sides are level on 11 points, and drew 1-1 in their first Group L meeting. Another 1-1 draw would leave them with identical head-to-head records and goal difference, meaning PAOK would top the section on goals scored.

Previous meetings
• All the action came late on when the sides met for the third time ever on matchday two: Dimitris Salpingidis rifled in a deep free-kick at the back post on 93 minutes to wipe out Jeffrey Gouweleeuw's 82nd-minute opener for AZ.

• Co Adriaanse's AZ eliminated Rolf Fringer's PAOK in the sides' only previous encounters, in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup first round. AZ won 3-2 in Salonika and then 2-1 at home.

• The teams for that first meeting at the Stadio Toumba on 16 September 2004 were:
PAOK: Tochouroglou, Vokolos, Maladenis, Salpingidis, Theodoridis (Skarmoutsos 65), Yiasemakis, Koutsis, Andralas (Engomitis 54), Chasiotis, Udeze, Hagan (Spasić 54).
AZ: Timmer, Kromkamp, Jaliens, Opdam, Landzaat, Lindenbergh, Huysegems, De Cler, Meerdink (Nelisse 72), Van Galen (Ramzi 66), Perez (Sektioui 88).

• The only member of the current squads who featured was PAOK striker Salpingidis, who scored in both legs for the Greek side. He left in 2006 before returning in 2010.

Match background
• PAOK's overall record in 11 games against Dutch sides is W1 D5 L5 (W1 D2 L2 at home, W0 D3 L3 in the Netherlands). They have drawn their last five games against Dutch opposition.

• AZ's record in eight games against Greek sides is W4 D2 L2 (W2 D2 L1 at home, W2 D0 L1 in Greece). They beat Atromitos FC on away goals in the play-offs to reach this season's group stage, winning 3-1 away before going down 2-0 at home.

• PAOK replaced FC Metalist Kharkiv in the UEFA Champions League play-offs after the Ukrainian side, who had beaten PAOK in the third qualifying round, were excluded from Europe. They lost 4-3 on aggregate to FC Schalke 04 but moved into the UEFA Europa League for what is their fourth group campaign; they failed to progress in 2005/06 but made it to the round of 32 in 2010/11 and 2011/12.

• AZ are appearing in this group stage for the seventh time; losing UEFA Cup finalists in 1980/81, they made it through to the semi-finals after coming through the competition's inaugural group stage in 2004/05. They have qualified for the knockout stage for the fifth time.

• PAOK have won their last four UEFA Europa League home games, while their record unbeaten run on the road in the competition (excluding qualifying) now stretches to a record nine games (three more than any other club).

Team facts
• The first leg of the round of 16 (if AZ get there) would be Dick Advocaat's 100th UEFA club competition game as a coach.

• With 66 UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League appearances (including qualifying), PAOK's Salpingidis is joint fifth with Enzo Scifo in the competitions' all-time appearances standings: one more game would put him level with Walid Badier in fourth. Walter Zenga is third in the standings with 69 games.

• Salpingidis is also joint ninth top scorer in the competitions, level with Jupp Heynckes on 23 goals. One more would put him level with Mladen Petrić and Claudio Pizarro in seventh. Henrik Larsson tops those standings with 40 goals.

• AZ Alkmaar have the cleanest disciplinary record in the group stage, receiving just three yellow cards in the first five matchdays.

• PAOK have a Dutch coach in Huub Stevens, with AZ defender Dirk Marcellis having played under him during his time at PSV Eindhoven in 2008/09.

• AZ midfielder Roy Beerens met PAOK during his time at sc Heerenveen, leaving the pitch injured after 20 minutes of a 1-1 draw in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup play-offs. The Dutch side prevailed on away goals after a 0-0 second leg.

• PAOK attacker Miroslav Stoch won the 2009/10 Dutch title while on loan from Chelsea FC at FC Twente.

Coach information
• PAOK coach since June 2013, Stevens won the UEFA Cup as a player with PSV Eindhoven in 1977/78 and as FC Schalke 04 coach in 1996/97. A defender, he spent his best years as a player with PSV, who he later coached. Schalke fans named him as their coach of the century in 1999, and he also coached 1. FC Köln, Hamburger SV and FC Salzburg before embarking on a second, less successful stint with Schalke in 2011.

• AZ dismissed coach Gertjan Verbeek ahead of matchday two. He had been in charge since 2010, and led the club to Dutch Cup success last season.

• Dick Advocaat was named as AZ's new coach on 16 October, returning to the club where he had spent five months in charge at the end of the 2009/10 season. Twice Netherlands coach, the 66-year-old won the 2007/08 UEFA Cup with FC Zenit, as well as national titles with PSV Eindhoven (1997/98), Rangers FC (1998/99, 1999/2000) and Zenit (2007).

• Advocaat is one of four coaches in the group stage to have had his hands on the trophy before. As well as Stevens' victories as a player and a coach, FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk's coach Juande Ramos (Sevilla FC, 2006 and 2007) and Tottenham Hotspur FC manager André Villas-Boas (FC Porto, 2011) are the others.