Sheriff signing off with Tromsø test

FC Sheriff will look to remove themselves from contention in the race for a dubious UEFA Europa League record when they take on Tromsø IL in their final Group K game.

• Both sides are out of contention for a place in the round of 32, but Tromsø will move above Sheriff into third place with a victory in Moldova.

Previous meetings
• In Tromsø's first encounter with Moldovan opponents, the sides drew 1-1 on matchday two, Zdeněk Ondrášek putting the home side in front before Ricardinho's finish three minutes from the end salvaged a point for ten-man Sheriff.

• The only previous tie to be played between Norwegian and Moldovan clubs was Sheriff's 2004/05 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round meeting with Rosenborg BK. The Trondheim side won 2-1 at home and 2-0 in Moldova.

• Norway and Moldova have met in four senior internationals, with Norway winning three of them and the other ending 0-0. No Moldovan side has yet scored against a Norwegian team at senior level.

Match background
• Sheriff, Legia Warszawa and R. Standard de Liège have all gone nine games without a win in the UEFA Europa League, equalling the competition record held by three other teams – FC Salzburg, FC Steaua Bucureşti and PFC CSKA Sofia.

• Sheriff competed in the 2009/10 and 2010/11 UEFA Europa League group stages, failing to advance on both occasions having collected five points each time.

• Tromsø reached the 2005/06 UEFA Cup group stage, but finished bottom of their section with a win and three defeats.

• Tromsø lost 3-2 on aggregate to Beşiktaş JK in the play-offs but were handed a group stage place after the Istanbul side were excluded from the competition.

Team facts
• Sheriff's Ismail Isa has been caught offside 12 times in the first five matchdays – more than any other player in this season's competition.

• Tromsø have had the fewest shots of any side in the group stage: 22 (6 on target, 16 off target). They have also committed the fewest fouls: 42

• This is Tromsø's 50th UEFA club competition game; the previous 49 have ended W19 D10 L20.

• Tromsø are the only side in the group stage to have made it through all the way from the first qualifying round.

• Sheriff are one of nine domestic champions who started in this season's group stage along with NK Maribor (Slovenia), Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (Israel), PFC Ludogorets Razgrad (Bulgaria), Legia Warszawa (Poland), FC Shakhter Karagandy (Kazakhstan), APOEL FC (Cyprus), GNK Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) and IF Elfsborg (Sweden).

• Based inside the Arctic Circle, Tromsø are the most northerly side in the group stage – 4,299km separates them from the southernmost representatives, Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC.

Coach information
• Sheriff coach Veaceslav Rusnac was a defender for a number of clubs and is now assisted by Juan Ferrando, who was Cesc Fàbregas's personal trainer at Arsenal FC. Rusnac achieved an unusual first in 2000 when he won the Moldovan league with FC Zimbru Chisinau, the local futsal crown with FC Zarea Balti and the top prize in Moldovan beach football with Palestra. As a coach, he took charge at Sheriff in July 2013 after spells with several other local sides and the Moldova Under-17 national team.

• Tromsø dismissed coach Agnar Christensen on 1 October after a 3-2 league defeat at home against IK Start. They finished second from bottom in Norway and have been relegated.

• Steinar Nilsen has taken temporary command at Tromsø after serving as Christensen's assistant. Born in the city, the twice-capped 41-year-old defender served Tromsø in two spells as a player, either side of five years in Italy with AC Milan and SSC Napoli. This is his third spell as the club's coach – he notably led them into the 2005/06 UEFA Cup group stage in his first period in charge.