Rosenborg v St-Étienne background
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Article summary
Rosenborg need a win at home against St-Étienne to maintain any hope of making it through the group stage, while Les Verts could celebrate reaching the last 32 on matchday five.
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Rosenborg BK's hopes of progressing through the UEFA Europa League group stage for the first time are fading as they take on AS Saint-Étienne in Group G.
• Rosenborg are out if they fail to win.
• SS Lazio and St-Étienne will qualify together if the former win their matchday five game.
Previous meetings
• Rosenborg earned a 2-2 draw at St-Étienne on matchday one.
• Laurent Roussey's St-Étienne beat Erik Hamrén's Rosenborg 3-0 in the sides' only previous meeting – a 2008/09 UEFA Cup group stage match. Les Verts' two games against Rosenborg represent the entirety of their experience against Norwegian clubs in UEFA competition.
• Rosenborg's eight games against French opponents have ended W1 D2 L5 (W1 D1 L1 at home). They have not won in their last seven encounters with Ligue 1 teams (D2 L5).
Form guide
• Rosenborg have lost their last three European home games without scoring and have taken just one point from four Group G fixtures.
• St-Étienne's record in four European away contests this season is W2 D1 L1.
• Rosenborg's three previous UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns have all ended in elimination.
• St-Étienne negotiated the UEFA Cup group stage at the first attempt in 2008/09 but missed the cut last season in their first UEFA Europa League group stage tilt.
Trivia and links
• The journey from St-Etienne to Trondheim is just over 2,000km.
• St-Étienne's Nolan Roux has been credited with four assists since the start of the group stage – more than any other player in this season's competition.
• Qäbälä FK and Rosenborg are the only clubs who have made it all the way from the first qualifying round to the group stage in this season's tournament.
• Rosenborg's Mikael Dorsin (RC Strasbourg 2003/04) and Anders Konradsen (Stade Rennais FC 2013–15) have Ligue 1 experience. Konradsen's Rennes team-mates included St-Étienne's Kévin Theophile-Catherine and Vincent Pajot.
The coaches
• Kåre Ingebrigtsen was born in Trondheim and has been with Rosenborg as a player or a coach for long periods of his professional career. As a midfielder, he spent two years with Manchester City FC and was assistant coach at Viking FK when he was offered the senior job at Rosenborg.
• St-Étienne coach since 2009, Christophe Galtier led Les Verts to French League Cup success in 2012/13. A defender, he started his playing career at home-town club Olympique de Marseille. He returned to Marseille as a coach and worked as assistant to Alain Perrin at St-Étienne before getting the senior job.