Osmanlıspor v Villarreal background

Osmanlıspor will look to maintain their impressive home record in the UEFA Europa League as they welcome Villarreal, who top Group L after two matchdays.

Previous meetings
• The sides are meeting for the first time and it is Osmanlıspor's first encounter with Spanish opposition.

• Villarreal are yet to lose in four matches against Turkish teams (W2 D2 – W1 D1 in Turkey).

Form guide
• Osmanlıspor have won all four of their European home games this season without conceding.

• This is Osmanlıspor's first UEFA group stage campaign; they previously competed in Europe under the name Ankaraspor.

• Villarreal are without a win in three European away fixtures (D1 L2).

• UEFA Europa League semi-finalists last term, the Yellow Submarine have made it through to the round of 32 in all six of their previous UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage forays.

Links and trivia
• The journey from Villarreal to Ankara is around 2,800km.

• On matchday two, Villarreal's Bruno Soriano became the first player to reach 40 UEFA Europa League appearances for a single club. He had previously shared the record with Sporting CP goalkeeper Rui Patrício.

• Villarreal's Cédric Bakambu knows Turkish football from his time at Bursaspor from 2014–15.

• Osmanlıspor's Pierre Webó (Osasuna, Legánes, Mallorca), Tiago Pinto (Deportivo La Coruña, Santander) and Raul Rusescu (Sevilla) all have Spanish league experience.

• Former team-mates:
Cheick Diabaté (Osmanlıspor) & Alfred N'Diaye (Villarreal) – Nancy, 2009–10
Raul Rusescu (Osmalıspor) & Denis Cheryshev (Villarreal) – Sevilla, 2013–14
Raul Rusescu (Osmalıspor) & Mariano Barbosa (Villarreal) – Sevilla, 2014–15

• Villarreal's Nicola Sansone joined the youth department at Bayern München in 2002, the same year Osmanlıspor's Erdal Kılıçaslan made the step up to Bayern's reserve team. Both players are from Munich.

The coaches
• Hired in July 2015, Mustafa Akçay earned Osmanlıspor a European spot with a fifth-placed finish last term. He had occupied the helm at several low-profile sides in Turkey before leading Trabzonspor through the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League group stage.

• Akçay's run of 19 UEFA club competition games unbeaten – 12 with Trabzonspor and seven with Osmanlıspor – ended with matchday two's 2-1 loss at Zürich.

• Fran Escribá took charge of Villarreal in August. Originally a playing trainee at Valencia, he had coached the Mestalla club's youth teams and had worked as Quique Sánchez Flores's assistant at Valencia, Getafe, Benfica and Atlético Madrid before going it alone with Elche and – last term – Getafe.