'It' figures: quarter-finals by numbers
Monday, March 30, 2015
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The race for the UEFA Europa League title is down to the last eight clubs; UEFA.com picks out the figures that shed a light on the quarter-final first legs.
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3: The UEFA Europa League quarter-finals feature three former winners (Sevilla FC 2006, 2007, 2014, FC Zenit 2008 and SSC Napoli 1989), and three coaches who have won the UEFA Europa League in its current incarnation: Unai Emery (Sevilla 2014), André Villas-Boas (FC Porto 2011) and Rafael Benítez (Chelsea FC 2013).
5: As they welcome ACF Fiorentina, FC Dynamo Kyiv have won all five of their European home games this season by margins of two goals or more.
6: With eight-goal top scorers Alan (FC Salzburg) and Romelu Lukaku (Everton FC) both eliminated, the leading marksmen left in the competition are Napoli's Gonzalo Higuaín and Club Brugge KV's Lior Refaelov with six each.
8: Fiorentina are yet to lose in eight matches against Ukrainian sides – W5 D3 – as they meet FC Dynamo Kyiv. The Viola are also unbeaten in 11 European away fixtures (W8 D3).
10: Three players have had a hand in ten UEFA Europa League goals this term: Dynamo's Andriy Yarmolenko (four goals, six assists), VfL Wolfsburg's Kevin De Bruyne (five goals, five assists) and Club Brugge's Refaelov (six goals, four assists).
14: Club Brugge are the only unbeaten team left in the competition, with the record of W11 D3 since entering the fray in the third qualifying round.
18: Zenit head for Sevilla having gone 18 games without a draw on the road in Europe (W7 L11) since being held 0-0 at Porto in a December 2011 UEFA Champions League group stage duel. They have not drawn in 11 away matches in this competition (W5 L6) since earning a 1-1 at FC Bayern München in the 2007/08 semis.
22: The top-scoring side left in the competition are Dynamo, who have hit 22 goals in their ten games: an average of 2.2 per match.
36: FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk's Yevhen Konoplyanka is the most fouled player in this season's competition by some distance; referees have been called in to defend him 36 times – on ten more occasions than any other player.
45: Daniel Carriço can become a stand-alone UEFA Europa League record holder in the quarter-finals, the Sevilla man having equalled Óscar Cardozo's record of 44 appearances in the competition (group stage to final) in the round of 16.
55: Napoli coach Benítez turns 55 the day of the first leg against Wolfsburg. This is the first time he has been involved in a UEFA game on his birthday.
60: Wolfsburg are the least experienced team left in the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League – they have played just 60 UEFA competition matches.
133: Dynamo goalkeeper Olexandr Shovkovskiy has made the most UEFA club competition outings of any of the players left in this UEFA Europa League campaign: 133. Only 18 players have played more European games.
930: Due to extra-time in their round of 16 decider, Dnipro goalkeeper Denys Boyko and defender Douglas have now amassed 930 minutes of football in this season's competition – 30 more than any other player.