Mönchengladbach v Fiorentina background

Borussia Mönchengladbach have never lost a home game against Italian opponents but have cause for concern as they welcome Fiorentina in the UEFA Europa League round of 32.

Previous meetings
• The clubs are meeting for the first time.

• Gladbach's record in 14 matches against Italian sides is W4 D7 L3. Five of their seven home fixtures – including the most recent four – ended in draws.

• Fiorentina have won only twice in ten meetings with German teams (W2 D3 L5) and have yet to triumph in Germany (D1 L4).

Form guide
• Gladbach have not won in their last three European home games (D2 L1).

Mönchengladbach were in a tough Champions League group©Getty Images

• Fiorentina are unbeaten in their three 2016/17 European away fixtures (W2 D1).

• UEFA Cup winners in 1975 and 1979, Gladbach last reached the round of 32 in 2014/15, when they lost to Sevilla.

• European Cup Winners' Cup winners in 1961, Fiorentina were losing UEFA Cup finalists in 1990. They reached last season's round of 32, where they were beaten by Tottenham Hotspur.

Links and trivia
• The journey from Florence to Monchengladbach is around 900km.

• Fiorentina's Nikola Kalinić can make his 50th UEFA club competition appearance in this game.

• Fiorentina's Federico Bernardeschi turns 23 on the day of the first leg.

Will Federico Bernardeschi have double cause for celebration?©Getty Images

• Fiorentina hit the woodwork five times during the group stage – more than any other side – with Bernardeschi denied by the frame of the goal twice.

• Gladbach (1975, 1979) are one of seven former UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League winners in the round of 32, along with Tottenham (1972, 1984), Anderlecht (1983), Ajax (1992), Schalke (1997), Zenit (2008) and Shakhtar Donetsk (2009).

• Fiorentina's Milan Badelj (Hamburg 2012–14) has Bundesliga experience.

• Suspended: Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina).
Misses next match if booked: Mahmoud Dahoud (Mönchengladbach); Carlos Sánchez (Fiorentina).

The coaches
• Dieter Hecking took command at Gladbach in December 2016, replacing André Schubert. He started his playing career as a midfielder at the club. He has coached in the Bundesliga with Alemannia Aachen, Hannover, Nürnberg and most recently Wolfsburg, from December 2012 to October 2016.

• 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.

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.