AZ seek Anji redemption

AZ Alkmaar have the chance to put one of the darkest days in their European history behind them as they take on FC Anji Makhachkala in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie.

Previous meetings
• Under Guus Hiddink, Anji eliminated Gertjan Verbeek's AZ from the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League play-offs; they won 1-0 in Russia, and 5-0 in Alkmaar – AZ's heaviest European defeat and Anji's biggest European win.

• The teams for that most recent meeting in Alkmaar, on 30 August 2012, were:
AZ: Esteban*, Marcellis*, Viergever*, Gorter*, Reijnen*, Maher, Falkenburg, Martens (Gudmundsson* 41), Elm*, Altidore (Boymans 60), Beerens* (Rosheuvel 72)
Anji: Gabulov, Samba, João Carlos, Boussoufa, Agalarov*, Jucilei, Eto'o (Lahiyalov 85), Shatov (Smolov* 72), Logashov (Zhirkov 54), Carcela-González, Traoré.

*registered to play for the club in this season's competition

Match background
• AZ have played five games against Russian teams with the record W1 D1 L3 (W1 D0 L1 at home). The aggregate score over those fixtures is 13-7 to the Russian sides.

• To set up last season's AZ tie, Anji overcame another Dutch side in the third qualifying round, winning 2-0 home and away against Vitesse.

• AZ came through the group stage unbeaten (W3 D3) and have not lost at home since they went down 2-0 to Atromitos FC in the play-offs (W2 D2).

• AZ have reached the round of 16 four times since the advent of the UEFA Cup group stage. They made it to the quarter-finals in all three previous attempts, overcoming FC Shakhtar Donetsk in 2004/05, Newcastle United FC in 2006/07 and Udinese Calcio in 2011/12.

• Anji have lost just once in four games on their travels in this season's UEFA Europa League (W2 D1 L1).

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

• AZ's Serbian midfielder Nemanja Gudelj is one of only four players left in the competition who have played in all 720 minutes of this season's UEFA Europa League since the start of the group stage: the others are Sevilla goalkeeper Javi Varas, his Salzburg counterpart Péter Gulácsi and Ludogorets right-back Junior Caiçara.

• Gudelj has had more shots off target (13) than any other player left in the competition.

• AZ's Aron Jóhannsson, Mattias Johansson and Gudelj have committed more fouls (15 each) than any other players still involved in the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League.

• Anji made it through the group stage at the first attempt under Hiddink last season, losing out to Newcastle on their round of 16 debut after eliminating Hannover 96.

• Anji and NK Maribor were the only sides to have made it through this season's group stage with a negative goal difference, -3 in both cases. Anji scored just four goals in Group K; of the other teams that qualified, only Real Betis Balompié (with three goals in Group I) registered fewer.

• Anji come into this encounter as the bottom side in the Russian top division. The club sold most of their prize assets last summer, including Samuel Eto'o, Willian and Mbark Boussoufa.

• Anji are the only side still involved who have lost two UEFA Europa League games since the start of the group stage.

Coach information
• AZ dismissed 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 AZ coach on 16 October, returning to the club where he spent five months in charge at the end of 2009/10. Twice Netherlands coach, he 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 two coaches in the round of 16 to have led a side to victory in this competition before, with SSC Napoli's Rafael Benítez (Valencia CF, 2004 & Chelsea FC, 2013) the other.

• A major footballing figure in his native Dagestan, Gadzhi Gadzhiev returned for a fourth spell as Anji boss in summer 2013. A player for FC Spartak Leningrad, he has coached in Azerbaijan and Japan and worked as assistant to Anatoliy Byshovets during his spells in charge of the USSR/CIS and Russia, embarking on the first of his adventures with Anji in 1999.