Dortmund v Krasnodar background
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Article summary
Borussia Dortmund cut quite a dash in UEFA Europa League qualifying and will hope that the goals keep flowing as they welcome Krasnodar in their Group C opener.
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Borussia Dortmund return to this group stage for the first time since 2010/11, looking to extend a mighty UEFA Europa League home run under their new coach as FC Krasnodar visit in Group C.
Previous meetings
• The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition.
• Dortmund have won all three of their away games against Russian sides but their form has been more wobbly at home in those ties: W1 D1 L1.
• Krasnodar's only previous encounters with German sides were in last season's UEFA Europa League group stage when they lost 4-2 at home and 5-1 away against VfL Wolfsburg.
• Krasnodar coach Oleg Kononov took on Dortmund as coach of FC Karpaty Lviv in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League group stage; his side lost 4-3 at home and 3-0 in Germany. Current Dortmund players Nuri Şahin, Shinji Kagawa and Mats Hummels all scored in the course of those games.
Form guide
• Dortmund have had an eventful European campaign so far, with 22 goals scored in their four qualifying games. They won their last two European home games by five-goal margins – 5-0 against Wolfsberger AC and 7-2 against Odds BK.
• Krasnodar are on a three-game unbeaten run away from home in Europe: W1 D2.
• Dortmund are featuring in this group stage for only the second time, having failed to make it to the knockout phase in their only previous appearance, in 2010/11.
• Krasnodar have now reached the UEFA Europa League group stage in both of their European campaigns, though they did not make it to the round of 32 last season.
Trivia and links
• The journey from Krasnodar to Dortmund is a little over 2,400km.
• Krasnodar midfielder Pavel Mamaev turns 27 on the day of the Dortmund game.
The coaches
• Thomas Tuchel is in his first season as Dortmund coach after replacing Jürgen Klopp in the summer. The 42-year-old made his name in a five-year spell in charge of 1. FSV Mainz 05, but took a year out before taking on his current role.
• Oleg Kononov has coached Krasnodar since 2013, leading the club to an impressive third-placed finish in Russia last season. This is his third group stage campaign; he made it this far with FC Karpaty Lviv in 2010/11 and with Krasnodar last season.
