Fiorentina v Qarabağ background

Fiorentina will bid to break their European duck for 2016 as Qarabağ head to Italy on matchday two, the Azerbaijani side having come from behind to earn a 2-2 draw against Liberec in their first Group J game.

Previous meetings
• The teams are meeting for the first time and it is Fiorentina's first experience of Azerbaijani opponents.

• Qarabağ took on Internazionale in the 2014/15 group stage, losing 2-0 in Milan and then drawing 0-0 in Baku – a result that spelled elimination from the competition.

Form guide
• A 0-0 draw at PAOK on matchday one means Fiorentina are still to win in three UEFA matches in 2016 (D2 L1).

• Qarabağ are without a victory in six European away games (D2 L4) since a 1-0 triumph at Young Boys in the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League play-offs.

• Fiorentina have a 100% qualification success rate in four UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns.

• Qarabağ are featuring in the UEFA Europa League group stage for the third season in succession but have yet to make it to the round of 32.

Links and trivia
• The journey from Qarabağ's base in Baku to Florence is around 3,200km. The Horsemen have not played in their home town, Agdam, since 1993.

• Fiorentina's Mexican defender Carlos Salcedo (23) and Qarabağ's Maksim Medvedev (27) both celebrate birthdays on the day of the match.

The coaches
• A European champion as a player with Juventus (1996) and Borussia Dortmund (1997), former Portugal midfielder Paulo Sousa joined Fiorentina in June 2015 fresh from landing the 2013/14 Israeli crown with Maccabi Tel-Aviv and the 2014/15 Swiss championship with Basel.

• Qarabağ coach Gurban Gurbanov is Azerbaijan's highest-scoring international with 12 goals in 62 games and played in Russia and Ukraine as well as Azerbaijan. Coach since 2008, he has led Qarabağ to domestic championships in the last three campaigns.