Whole new level for Sevilla and Betis

The excitement of a Seville derby will have a new twist as the city's top sides, Sevilla FC and Real Betis Balompié, take their rivalry on to the continental stage in the UEFA Europa League round of 16.

Previous meetings
• The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition but know each other well from domestic football. There have been 107 Seville derbies, the teams first meeting in the 1927/28 Copa del Rey; the overall record in those games is 48-33 to Sevilla with 26 draws.

• Of those games, 87 have been in the Spanish top division, Sevilla winning 39 to Betis's 28.

• Sevilla won their last two home games against Betis by four-goal margins: 5-1 in 2012/13, and 4-0 this season. Betis have not won at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán since Beñat Etxebarria scored twice in a 2-1 success on 2 May 2012.

• The sides' last three encounters at the Benito Villlamarín ended in draws. Sevilla last won at Betis on 11 May 2008, Luís Fabiano and Federico Fazio on target in a 2-0 win.

• Betis have not won in six home games against their city rivals in all competitions (D4 L2) since a 2-1 Liga victory in April 2006.

Match background
• This is Betis' first encounter with Spanish opponents in UEFA competition, while it is Sevilla's ninth, the previous eight having ended W2 D3 L3 (W1 D2 L0 at home). Two of those games were held on neutral territory – the 2-2 draw against Espanyol in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup final at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Sevilla winning 3-1 on penalties, and a 3-0 victory against FC Barcelona in the 2006 UEFA Super Cup at Monaco's Stade Louis II.

• Sevilla are unbeaten in 13 UEFA competition games (W8 D5) since a 2-1 loss at Hannover 96 in the first leg of last season's UEFA Europa League play-offs. They are unbeaten at home in seven European fixtures (W4 D3) since a 2-1 loss to FC Porto in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League round of 32.

• Betis have lost only once in their five away games in Europe this season (W3 D1 L1), 1-0 at Olympique Lyonnais in the group stage. Their 2-0 win at FC Rubin Kazan in their round of 32 decider was one of the four best away results in their European history.

• This is the third time that a major Spanish derby fixture has been played in European competition. Real Madrid CF got the better of Club Atlético de Madrid after a replay on neutral territory in the 1958/59 European Champion Clubs' Cup semi-finals, while FC Barcelona beat RCD Espanyol 1-0 home and away in the quarter-finals of the 1965/66 Inter-Cities' Fairs Cup – the non-UEFA affiliated precursor to the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League.

• Prior to this season, there have been 47 previous encounters between Spanish clubs in UEFA competition including three major finals; Real Madrid CF's 3-0 win against Valencia CF in the 1999/00 UEFA Champions League, Sevilla's 2007 shoot-out success against Espanyol, and most recently, Club Atlético de Madrid's 3-0 win against Athletic Club in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League final.

Team facts
• Spain and Italy are the best represented nations in the round of 16 with three clubs apiece.

• Sevilla midfielder Marko Marin celebrates his 25th birthday on the day of the game.

• Betis midfielder Salvador Sevilla was at Sevilla's reserve side, Sevilla Atlético, from 2005 to 2008.

• Sevilla are one of six qualifiers from the group stage who remain unbeaten after eight games, the others being PFC Ludogorets Razgrad, ACF Fiorentina, FC Salzburg, Olympique Lyonnais and AZ Alkmaar.

• Sevilla goalkeeper Javi Varas is one of only four players left to have played in all 720 minutes of this season's UEFA Europa League from the start of the group stage: the others are Salzburg shot-stopper Pétér Gulácsi, AZ midfielder Nemanja Gudelj and Ludogorets right-back Júnior Caiçara.

• Betis have won the most corners in the competition (68) – 13 more than Lazio and 17 more than Sevilla , the nearest challengers who are still in the competition. They have also received more yellow cards (20) and committed more fouls (150) than any other side left in the competition.

• Sevilla (2006 & 2007) are one of six previous UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League winners left in the competition along with Tottenham Hotspur FC (1972, 1984), Valencia CF (2004), SSC Napoli (1989), FC Porto (2003, 2011) and final hosts Juventus (1977, 1990, 1993).

• Betis have lost just once in ten European fixtures this season. However, they were the lowest-scoring side to make it through the group stage, with just three goals in their six Group I outings.

• Betis last made it to this stage in the 2005/06 UEFA Cup, overcoming AZ in the round of 32 en route to a round of 16 loss against FC Steaua Bucureşti.

• Betis's biggest achievements in Europe have been reaching two UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals, going out to Dinamo in 1977/78 and Chelsea FC in 1997/98.

Coach information
• Sevilla coach since January 2013, Unai Emery started out as a midfielder at Real Sociedad de Fútbol, but spent the bulk of his career in Spain's second division, switching from playing to coaching at Lorca Deportiva CF after a serious knee injury. Having led UD Almería to the top tier he coached Valencia CF from 2008 to 2012, with his side regular European contenders during that spell. More recently he had a brief stint at FC Spartak Moskva.

• Betis have changed coach twice since the start of December with former striker Pepe Mel and then his replacement Juan Carlos Garrido, who had just ten games in charge, both having spells in the dugout.

• Former Betis midfielder Gabriel Calderón took over on 19 January. An international team-mate of Diego Maradona, Calderón played for Betis in the mid-80s, then joined Paris Saint-Germain, finishing his career with spells at FC Lausanne-Sport and SM Caen, and going on to coach both sides. He then left for the Middle East, where he led club sides and the national teams of Saudi Arabia, Oman and – most recently – Bahrain.