Hapoel Beer-Sheva v Beşiktaş background

Having battled all the way through from the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round, Hapoel Beer-Sheva will hope their 13th European game of the season does not prove unlucky as they host Beşiktaş.

Previous meetings
• This is the clubs' first meeting and Beer-Sheva's maiden encounter with Turkish opponents.

• Beşiktaş are undefeated in four games against Israeli opponents: W2 D2 (W1 D1 in Israel).

Form guide
• Beer-Sheva have lost only one of their last eight European home matches (W4 D3 L1), 1-0 against Sparta Praha in this season's group stage.

• Beşiktaş are without a win in three European fixtures (D2 L1) and will look to erase the memory of a 6-0 loss at Dynamo Kyiv in their final UEFA match of 2016.

• This is by far the most successful of Beer-Sheva's seven seasons in UEFA competition; this is their first springtime European encounter.

• The nearest Beşiktaş have come to winning a major European competition was reaching the UEFA Cup last eight in 2002/03 and the European Cup quarter-finals in 1986/87.

Links and trivia
• The journey from Istanbul to Beer Sheva is around 1,200km.

• Beer-Sheva and Beşiktaş are among eight domestic champions involved in the round of 32, along with Ludogorets Razgrad (BUL), APOEL (CYP), København (DEN), Olympiacos (GRE), Legia Warszawa (POL) and Astra Giurgiu (ROU).

• Ricardo Quaresma should have fond memories of a past trip to Israel with Beşiktaş – he scored twice in a 3-2 win at Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the 2011/12 group stage. Beer-Sheva reserve keeper Guy Haimov was on the bench for Maccabi in that game and had been in goal for the reverse fixture when his side lost 5-1 in Istanbul.

• Beşiktaş's Vincent Aboubakar (who is suspended for the first leg) and Beer-Sheva's Maor Melikson were team-mates at French side Valenciennes (2012–13).

• Suspended: Vincent Aboubakar, Andreas Beck, Adriano (Beşiktaş)
Misses next match if booked: Ben Bitton, Miguel Vítor (Beer-Sheva); Tolgay Arslan, Caner Erkin (Beşiktaş).

The coaches
• Beer-Sheva boss Barak Bakhar steered the club to their first Israeli championship in 2015/16, his first term in the hot seat. He previously landed the 2013/14 Israeli Cup at the helm of Kiryat Shmona, where he spent the bulk of his playing days as a defender.

• Beşiktaş coach Şenol Güneş famously guided Turkey to the bronze medal at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. A goalkeeper who spent the majority of his playing career at home-town club Trabzonspor, he led Beşiktaş to the 2015/16 Turkish title in his first season in charge.

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.