Monaco v Qarabağ background
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Article summary
As they visit Monaco in Group J, Qarabağ are yet to win in four meetings with French sides, though they can take heart from a pair of draws against St-Étienne last season.
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AS Monaco FC are on a decent run of home form as they host Qarabağ FK in UEFA Europa League Group J, with the Azerbaijani side seeking a first win against French opponents.
Previous meetings
• The teams are meeting for the first time and it is Monaco's first encounter with an Azerbaijani club.
• Qarabağ are yet to win in four matches against French sides (D2 L2) but twice held AS Saint-Étienne (0-0, 1-1) in last season's UEFA Europa League group stage.
Form guide
• Monaco have lost just once in their last 13 European home games (W7 D5 L1) – a 2-0 defeat by Arsenal FC in last season's UEFA Champions League round of 16, a tie they won on away goals.
• Qarabağ have scored just seven goals in eight European fixtures this term, but have conceded only four – three of them at Tottenham Hotspur FC (1-3) on matchday one.
• Monaco were successful in their only previous UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League group stage campaign, making it to the round of 32 in 2005/06.
• This is Qarabağ's second UEFA Europa League group stage campaign. They narrowly missed the cut for the round of 32 last season, having become the second Azerbaijani outfit to make it to a major UEFA group stage – after Neftçi in 2012/13 – and the first to win a group game.
Trivia and links
• The journey from Baku to Monaco is around 3,500km.
• Monaco defender Fabinho turns 22 the day after the Qarabağ game.
• Qarabağ midfielder Alharbi El Jadeyaoui was born in Strasbourg and played for French clubs Tours FC (2004/05), LB Châteauroux (2005–08), Stade Brestois 29 (2008/09), EA Guingamp (2009–12), SCO Angers (2012–14) and RC Lens (2014–15).
• Qarabağ's Dutch forward Rydell Poepon was on loan at Valenciennes FC last season, scoring seven goals in 35 Ligue 2 outings.
• Qarabağ are one of ten domestic champions in this season's group stage, along with KF Skenderbëu (Albania), APOEL FC (Cyprus), FC Viktoria Plzeň (Czech Republic), FC Midtjylland (Denmark), KKS Lech Poznań (Poland), FK Partizan (Serbia), Celtic FC (Scotland), Molde FK (Norway) and FC Basel 1893 (Switzerland).
The coaches
• Venezuelan-born Leonardo Jardim has been Monaco boss since 2014. A coach from his mid-20s onwards, he managed SC Beira-Mar and SC Braga in the Portuguese top flight, then tried his luck in Greece with Olympiacos FC before earning a second-place Liga finish with a young Sporting Clube de Portugal squad in 2013/14.
• Qarabağ coach Gurban Gurbanov is still his country's highest-scoring international with 12 goals in 62 matches and played his club football in Russia and Ukraine as well as Azerbaijan. Coach since 2008, the former striker has led Qarabağ to domestic titles in the last two campaigns.
