Villarreal v Roma background

Villarreal got the better of Roma in their only previous two-legged encounter and will look for a more comfortable success as the two teams come together again, in the UEFA Europa League round of 32.

Previous meetings
• Francisco García Gómez's Villarreal beat Fabio Capello's Roma 2-0 at home in the first leg of a 2003/04 UEFA Cup fourth round tie, then progressed after a 2-1 defeat in the away leg.

• Villarreal's record in 18 games against Italian sides is W7 D5 L6 (W7 D1 L1 at home – W0 D4 L5 in Italy).

• Roma's 26 matches against Spanish teams have ended W9 D4 L13 (W6 D1 L6 at home – W3 D3 L7 in Spain).

Form guide
• All four of Villarreal's European home fixtures this season have ended 2-1 – two wins for the home side and two for the visitors.

Roma were one of the top scorers in the group stage©Getty Images

• Roma emerged from the UEFA Europa League group stage undefeated (W3 D3), scoring four times in each of those victories.

• Villarreal advanced to the UEFA Europa League semi-finals last season, losing to Liverpool. It was the Yellow Submarine's fourth UEFA semi-final (they also reached the last four of the 2003/04 UEFA Cup, 2005/06 UEFA Champions League and 2010/11 UEFA Europa League) but they have yet to reach the showpiece match.

• Losing European Cup finalists in 1984, and UEFA Cup finalists in 1991, Roma went as far as the UEFA Champions League round of 16 last season.

Links and trivia
• The journey from Rome to Villarreal is around 1,100km.

• Villarreal boast Italian talent in the form of Daniele Bonera, Roberto Soriano and Nicola Sansone.

Villarreal's José Ángel playing for Roma in September 2011©Getty Images

• Villarreal defender José Ángel played for Roma in the 2011/12 season, making 27 Serie A appearances, plus two more in both the UEFA Europa League and Coppa Italia.

• Villarreal's Víctor Ruiz (Napoli, 2011) also has Serie A experience.

• Roma's Diego Perotti, Federico Fazio (both Sevilla) and Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona) have played in Spain.

• Suspended: none.
Misses next match if booked: Jonathan dos Santos, Víctor Ruiz, Antonio Rukavina, Rafael Borré (Villarreal); Leandro Paredes (Roma).

The coaches
• Fran Escribá took charge of Villarreal in August. A trainee at Valencia, he coached with the club's youth sides and was Quique Sánchez Flores's assistant at Valencia, Getafe, Benfica and Atlético Madrid before going it alone with Elche and – last season – Getafe.

• Luciano Spalletti returned to Roma in January 2016 after five years in Russia with Zenit, where he claimed two league championships. He lifted the Coppa Italia twice with Roma between 2005 and 2009, having made his name leading unfancied Udinese to fourth place in Serie A in 2004/05.

UEFA makes new donation of €100,000 to ICRC
UEFA will mark a decade of helping Afghan landmine victims on Wednesday, when Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos presents a cheque for €100,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

"I would like to pay tribute to the ICRC, who have been working relentlessly to help landmine victims, many of whom are children. Their programme in Afghanistan, which has been in place for several years, shows that football can offer real hope in challenging times," said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.

"I am glad that UEFA can help this cause, and that the sport we love can have a positive impact on the rehabilitation process of so many people in this troubled region," he added.

The donation supports the ICRC's physical rehabilitation programme for landmine victims and other people with disabilities in Afghanistan – providing artificial limbs, physiotherapy, vocational training and access to the rehabilitation centre's football team. About a third of patients are children.

Sergio Ramos will present the donation before his side's UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg match against Napoli at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid on 15 February.

"The people benefiting from the ICRC programme in Afghanistan are an inspiration to us, as they set an example of how to approach life in a positive manner despite the problems that they face," the Real Madrid captain said.

Sergio Ramos was chosen to hand over the cheque after receiving the most votes in UEFA.com's Team of the Year, which was published in January, and added that it is "a privilege" to be "a source of motivation" to so many people.

"They don't stop dreaming, and they fight to make their dreams come true. As key figures in this sport, it's a true privilege for us footballers to be a source of motivation in their day-to-day lives, and to help them out," he said.

Over the course of a partnership lasting almost 20 years, UEFA has donated in excess of €3.5m to the ICRC to help disadvantaged people around the globe. Meanwhile, over 7 million votes were cast in selecting the UEFA.com users' Team of the Year 2016. More information on the award is available online at en.toty.uefa.com.