Rubin v Liverpool background
Friday, October 23, 2015
Article summary
Rubin have won all three of their previous home games against English sides as they welcome Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool in UEFA Europa League Group B.
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FC Rubin will bid to prolong Jürgen Klopp's wait for a first UEFA Europa League win as Liverpool FC coach when the teams meet again in Group B.
Previous meetings
• The sides drew 1-1 at Anfield on 22 October. Marko Dević put the visitors in front, but, after Oleg Kuzmin's dismissal, Emre Can levelled to spare Klopp from defeat in his first home game in charge of the Reds.
• Rubin's seven matches against English teams have ended W3 D2 L2 (W3 D0 L0 in Russia). Wigan Athletic FC, Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC all lost by one-goal margins away to Rubin.
• Liverpool's record in 12 encounters with Russian sides is W6 D2 L4 (W2 D0 L3 away), those games including a 3-1 UEFA Super Cup victory against PFC CSKA Moskva, played in Monaco, in August 2005. They lost their last two matches in Russia without scoring.
Form guide
• Rubin are unbeaten at home in Europe this season (W1 D2). They have not scored more than one goal in each of their last six UEFA fixtures in Kazan.
• Liverpool and PAOK FC are the only sides to have drawn all three of their group stage games this season.
• Rubin navigated their way through to the round of 32 in all three of their previous UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns.
• Liverpool advanced to the knockout phase in both of their previous UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns – in 2010/11 and 2012/13.
Trivia and links
• The journey from Liverpool to Kazan is around 3,300km.
• Rubin midfielder Magomed Ozdoev turns 23 on the day of the game.
The coaches
• Both clubs have changed coaches since the group stage draw.
• Valeri Chaly is in temporary charge at Rubin, following Rinat Bilyaletdinov's dismissal in September. A lower-league player in the Soviet Union, he was later a beach soccer and futsal trainer. Once coach of Moldova's FC Iskra-Stal, he joined Rubin after a short spell with FC Chayka Sevastopol's reserves.
• Liverpool manager since 2012, Brendan Rodgers was sacked on 4 October after an uninspiring run of results.
• Rodgers' replacement is former Borussia Dortmund coach Klopp. The 48-year-old enjoyed an immensely successful spell in charge at the Westfalenstadion, winning the Bundesliga in 2010/11, completing the double the following season and narrowly missing out against FC Bayern München in the 2013 UEFA Champions League final.
