Schalke v APOEL background
Monday, November 9, 2015
Article summary
Schalke know a win will take them to the round of 32 as they welcome APOEL in Group K, but their previous home games against Cypriot sides suggest that might not be a given.
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FC Schalke 04 will look to maintain their unbeaten UEFA Europa League group stage run when they welcome APOEL FC in Group K.
• If Schalke win, they are through; if APOEL lose they are out.
Previous meetings
• Schalke beat APOEL 3-0 in Cyprus as the sides met for a third time on matchday one.
• Fred Rutten's Schalke defeated Ivan Jovanović's APOEL 5-2 on aggregate in the first round of the 2008/09 UEFA Cup. They won 4-1 in Nicosia and drew 1-1 in Gelsenkirchen.
• Schalke are unbeaten in five games against Cypriot teams: W3 D2 L0, with both of the draws coming at home.
• APOEL have won just one of their 15 meetings with German clubs: W1 D1 L13 (W0 D1 L6 as the away team). That lone away draw was in Gelsenkirchen.
Form guide
• Schalke are unbeaten in their four Group K games (W1 D1 at home). They have not lost in ten group stage fixtures (W6 D4) since the advent of the UEFA Europa League.
• APOEL have lost their last three European away contests without scoring.
• Schalke have made it to the round of 32 in two of their previous three UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns. They won the competition in 1997, overcoming FC Internazionale Milano on penalties in the two-legged final.
• APOEL failed to make it through this group stage on their only previous appearance, in 2013/14.
Trivia and links
• The journey from Nicosia to Gelsenkirchen is not far off 2,800km.
• Klaas-Jan Huntelaar needs one more goal to take his UEFA club competition tally to 50. Thirteen players have reached that mark so far.
• APOEL's Constantinos Charalambides (FC Carl Zeiss Jena) and Boy Waterman (TSV Alemannia Aachen) have German league experience.
• APOEL are one of ten domestic champions in this season's group stage, along with KF Skenderbëu (Albania), Qarabağ FK (Azerbaijan), 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
• André Breitenreiter took over at Schalke in June 2015, having led SC Paderborn 07 to promotion in 2013/14 and then steered them momentarily to the top of the Bundesliga. An attacking midfielder, he started his career with Hannover 96 and Hamburger SV but spent the bulk of his playing days in the lower leagues.
• Hired by APOEL this summer, Temuri Ketsbaia travelled widely as a midfielder and scored 16 goals in 49 appearances for Georgia. Having coached Anorthosis Famagusta FC and Olympiacos FC, he was in charge of Georgia from 2009 to 2014.
