Basel in sight of Maccabi Tel-Aviv double

FC Basel 1893 can eliminate Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC from a UEFA club competition for the second time this season as the sides' UEFA Europa League tie concludes in Switzerland.

Previous meetings
• Maccabi made the brighter start in the first leg, but clear-cut chances were few and far between in a 0-0 draw.

• In their only previous encounter with Israeli opponents, Basel got the better of Maccabi in the third qualifying round for this season's UEFA Champions League.

• Valentin Stocker's goal gave Basel a 1-0 win at home, and they took a 3-0 lead in the return fixture in Tel Aviv. Although Maccabi brought it back to 3-3 early in the second half, Basel held on.

• The teams for their first meeting in Basel on on 30 July 2013 were:
Basel: Sommer, Degen, Ajeti, Streller, Stocker, Schär, Safari, Frei, Díaz (Xhaka 63), Ghaly (Andrist 88), Elneny (Bobadilla 77).
Maccabi Tel-Aviv: Juan Pablo, Alberman, Zahavi, Radi, Itzhaki (Ben Harush 83), Ziv, Tibi, Yeini, Prica, Altman (Ben Haim 62), Carlos García (Lugasssi 90+3).

• Maccabi also lost over two legs to Grasshopper Club in 1995/96 UEFA Champions League qualifying, with their overall record in five games against Swiss clubs W0 D3 L2 (W0 D1 L1 in Switzerland).

Match background
• Basel missed out on a UEFA Champions League round of 16 place following a 2-0 loss at FC Schalke 04 on matchday six, moving into this competition instead.

• Basel reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League last term – their best performance in a major UEFA club competition, though they played in one of the finals of the 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup.

• Maccabi are playing in their first springtime UEFA competition tie. This will be their 12th European fixture of the season, making this their longest continental campaign, beating their ten-match 2004/05 UEFA Champions League tilt.

• Maccabi have failed to score in three of their five European away games this season (D1 L2) but won 2-0 at Győr ETO FC and 2-1 at FC Girondins de Bordeaux.

Team facts
• Basel midfielder Matías Delgado made his 50th UEFA club competition appearance in Israel.

• Maccabi and Basel are among nine domestic champions in the round of 32 along with AFC Ajax (Netherlands), Juventus (Italy), PFC Ludogorets Razgrad (Bulgaria), NK Maribor (Slovenia), FC Viktoria Plzeň (Czech Republic), FC Porto (Portugal) and FC Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine).

Coach information
• Capped 49 times as a central defender by Switzerland, coach Murat Yakin was born in Basel but started his playing career with Grasshopper Club. He played for VfB Stuttgart and Fenerbahçe SK, but finished his career at Basel – where his brother Hakan Yakin also played. He got his first senior coaching appointment in 2009, leading FC Thun and later FC Luzern before taking charge of Basel and leading them to the 2012/13 Swiss title – his sixth in total following five triumphs as a player.

• Maccabi Tel-Aviv's Portuguese coach Paulo Sousa famously won back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles with different clubs – Juventus (1995/96) and Borussia Dortmund (1996/97). The defensive midfielder also reached the semi-finals of UEFA EURO 2000 with Portugal. He coached a series of English league clubs before leading Videoton FC in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League, and was hired as Maccabi coach in June 2013.

Shoot-out record
• Basel won their only previous UEFA competition penalty shoot-out 4-1 against Tottenham Hotspur FC in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals.

• Maccabi have yet to be involved in a UEFA penalty shoot-out.

Round of 16
• The winners of this tie will meet AFC Ajax or FC Salzburg in the round of 16, playing the first leg at home.

• Basel encountered Ajax in the second round of the 1970/71 European Champion Clubs' Cup, succumbing 3-0 at home and 2-1 away, with the Dutch side going on to win the competition. Basel have never met Salzburg.

• Maccabi met Ajax in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League group stage, losing 3-0 in Amsterdam but winning 2-1 in Israel. They have never faced Salzburg.