St-Étienne v Man. United background

Manchester United abruptly ended Saint-Étienne's ten-game unbeaten sequence in Europe this season, and the French side's record against English clubs hardly augurs well for a comeback when the round of 32 tie concludes on 22 February.

• Former Paris ace Zlatan Ibrahimović made it 17 goals in 14 matches against St-Étienne with a deflected free-kick, a tap-in and a penalty in United's 3-0 first-leg triumph.

Previous meetings
• The clubs met in the first round of the 1977/78 European Cup Winners' Cup. Dave Sexton's United earned a 1-1 first-leg draw in France, but were ordered to play the return match against Robert Herbin's side at least 200km from Manchester due to crowd trouble.

• United won that fixture 2-0 at Home Park, Plymouth, Stuart Pearson and Steve Coppell the scorers.

• St-Étienne's seven games against English teams have ended W1 D1 L5 (W1 D1 L1 at home).

• United's record in 25 UEFA fixtures against French opposition is W13 D10 L2 (W3 D7 L2 in France).

Form guide
• Prior to losing the Old Trafford first leg, St-Étienne were undefeated in ten European matches this season (W5 D5). They are still unbeaten in ten European home games (W4 D6), though four of their five Stade Geoffroy Guichard fixtures this term have ended in draws, three of them goalless.

• A 2-0 victory at Zorya on matchday six ended United's seven-match run without an away win in Europe (D1 L6).

St-Étienne succumbed to Basel at this stage last year©AFP/Getty Images

• European Cup runners-up in 1976, St-Étienne were eliminated in last season's UEFA Europa League round of 32 by Basel. Their best campaigns in this competition culminated in the quarter-finals in 1980 and 1981.

• United got to the last 16 in 2015/16, but the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League remains the only major UEFA trophy they have never won. Continental champions in 1968, 1999 and 2008, the Red Devils lifted the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1991.

Links and trivia
• The journey from Manchester to St-Etienne is around 1,000km.

• United's Paul Pogba came up against his older brother, St-Étienne defender Florentin Pogba, in the 16 February first leg.

• United's Ibrahimović enjoyed playing St-Étienne during his time in France; he scored 14 goals in 13 games against Les Verts in all competitions.

• Before breaking through at Monaco, United's Anthony Martial signed his first professional contract with St-Étienne's main rivals, Lyon. His record in two matches against Les Verts with Monaco is D1 L1 – he struck in a 1-1 draw against St-Étienne in April 2015.

• United reserve goalkeeper Sergio Romero turns 30 the day of the second leg, 24 hours after defender Phil Jones's 25th birthday.

• United's Chris Smalling and Wayne Rooney played at St-Étienne's Stade Geoffroy Guichard in England's 0-0 draw with Slovakia at UEFA EURO 2016. Old Trafford team-mate Marcus Rashford was an unused substitute.

The coaches
• St-Étienne coach since 2009, Christophe Galtier steered Les Verts to French League Cup success in 2012/13. He had worked as assistant to Alain Perrin at St-Étienne prior to getting the top job. Originally a defender, he began his playing career at home-town club Marseille.

• José Mourinho took over as United boss last summer. Having made his name winning the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League with Porto, he landed Europe's top club prize again with Internazionale Milano as well as three Premier League titles during two stints at Chelsea.

• In Mourinho's last foray in this competition, he guided Porto to the 2003 UEFA Cup final, where they edged Celtic 3-2 in Seville.

Penalty shoot-outs
• St-Étienne won their only previous UEFA penalty shoot-out:
W 4-3 H v Kardemir Karabükspor (2014/15 UEFA Europa League play-offs)

• United's record in three UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W1 L2:
L 5-4 A v Videoton (1984/85 UEFA Cup quarter-finals)
L 4-3 A v Torpedo Moskva (1992/93 UEFA Cup first round)
W 6-5 N v Chelsea (2007/08 UEFA Champions League final)