Schalke v Ajax background

Two Davy Klaassen goals have given Ajax the upper hand as they visit Schalke for their UEFA Europa League quarter-final decider.

Previous meetings
• Ajax won 2-0 when the sides met for the first time in UEFA competition in the first leg. The average age of their squad on the night was just 22.

• Schalke's nine games against Dutch sides have ended W3 D1 L5 (W3 D0 L0 at home). Encouragingly, all three of those home wins were by three-goal margins.

• Ajax's 33 games against German sides have ended W21 D5 L7 (W6 D4 L6 in Germany). Those games include the final of the 1987 European Cup Winners' Cup in Athens, where they beat Leipzig 1-0.

Form guide
• Schalke are unbeaten in five European home games this season: three wins by two-goal margins in the group stage followed by two 1-1 draws in the knockout phase.

• Ajax's record in seven European away games this season is W2 D3 L2. They have not won any of their most recent four on the road (D3 L1).

• Schalke lost 6-4 on aggregate to Athletic Club in their most recent quarter-final, in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League.

• Ajax have appeared in all eight UEFA Europa League campaigns – the only club to do so – but this is the first time they have reached the quarter-finals. In overcoming København 2-0 at home, they became the first Dutch club to win a UEFA Europa League knockout phase tie after losing the first leg.

• Ajax have not reached a major European quarter-final since bowing out to AC Milan in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League, and last got to a semi-final in the 1996/97 edition of the same competition, succumbing to Juventus.

Links and trivia
• The journey from Amsterdam to Gelsenkirchen is around 175km.

• Schalke's Thilo Keher is serving a one-match suspension after being booked in the first leg.

• Misses next match if booked
Ajax: Davy Klaassen, André Onana, Davinson Sánchez, Kenny Tete, Nick Viergever
Schalke: Abdul Baba Rahman, Johannes Geis, Leon Goretzka, Matija Nastasić, Benjamin Stambouli

• This is a meeting of two former winners – Ajax lifted the trophy in 1991/92, Schalke in 1996/97.

• Schalke striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar spent three years at Ajax (January 2006 to January 2009), scoring more than 100 goals.

• Huntelaar played under Ajax boss Peter Bosz while on loan at De Graafschap in 2003.

• Ajax have a former Schalke man in their ranks: reserve defender Heiko Westermann made 123 appearances in three seasons with the Royal Blues between 2007 and 2010.

• Ajax's German winger Amin Younes spent his formative years at Borussia Mönchengladbach, the side Schalke knocked out in the round of 16.

The coaches
• Schalke coach Markus Weinzierl progressed to last season's UEFA Europa League round of 32 with Augsburg, whom he had led since 2012. His playing career peaked when he spent a season with the first-team squad at Bayern München in 1998/99, though he never played a senior match.

• A Dutch title winner as a midfielder with Feyenoord, Bosz returned from Israel to take charge of Ajax in May 2016. Bosz has managed Heracles and Vitesse in the Netherlands, also briefly coaching Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

Penalty shoot-outs
• Schalke's record in four UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 D2:
W 4-1 A v FC Porto (2007/08 UEFA Champions League round of 16)
L 3-1 A v Brøndby IF (2003/04 UEFA Cup second round)
L 5-4 A v SK Slavia Praha (1998/99 UEFA Cup first round)
W 4-1 A v FC Internazionale Milano (1996/97 UEFA Cup final)

• Ajax's record in five UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W1 L4:
L 4-2 A v Steaua (2012/13 UEFA Europa League round of 32)
L 4-2 N v Juventus (1995/96 UEFA Champions League final)
W 4-3 N v Grêmio (1995 European/South American Cup)
L 4-2 A v Bohemians Praha (1984/85 UEFA Cup second round)
L 5-3 A v Levski (1975/76 UEFA Cup third round)