Rijeka v Austria Wien background

Rijeka will hope to use home advantage to complete a UEFA Europa League Group D double over Austria Wien after winning the matchday three encounter between the teams 3-1 in Vienna.

Previous meetings
• In the first meeting of the clubs, the Croatian side shrugged off the disappointment of four successive European defeats to take the spoils at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion, two first-half goals from Swiss striker Mario Gavranović putting the visitors in control before the teams traded late goals.

• The result stretched Austria's winless run at home to Croatian clubs to four matches (D1 L3). However, the Violetten are undefeated on their three previous trips to Croatia (W2 D1).

• Rijeka met Austrian opposition for the first time in this season's UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, drawing 1-1 away and 0-0 at home against Salzburg – thus winning the tie on away goals.

Form guide
• Rijeka are on a three-game European winless streak at home, their two most recent matches having ended in defeats by Greek clubs – Olympiacos 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League play-offs and AEK Athens 2-1 in their UEFA Europa League group opener.

• Austria Wien have lost only twice in their last 14 European away games, winning seven of them. Their only point so far in this group came on the road in a 2-2 draw at AEK Athens.

• Croatian title winners for the first time last term, Rijeka are in their third UEFA Europa League group stage campaign but have yet to reach the knockout phase.

• Last season's Austrian Bundesliga runners-up, Austria Wien have not survived their last five UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns; they reached the quarter-finals of the 2004/05 competition.

Trivia and links
• The journey from Vienna to Rijeka is around 350km.

• Rijeka's Austrian midfielder Alexander Gorgon joined the club from Austria Wien in 2016, having been with his home-town team since he was a teenager. He helped them win the Austrian league and reach the cup final in 2012/13.

• Austria Wien possess a Croatian player in Marko Pejić, the former Dinamo Zagreb trainee having signed after spells with Sesvete (2014) and Hajduk Split (2015–16) in his homeland.

• Suspended for next match if booked: Filip Bradarić and Josip Elez (Rijeka).

The coaches
• Rijeka's longest-serving coach, Slovenian Matjaž Kek was appointed in 2013 and steered the team to their first league championship and fourth Croatian Cup in 2016/17. A defender and coach at Maribor, where his father and son also played, he was Slovenia boss from 2007–11.

• Austria Wien coach since 2015, Thorsten Fink won the 2001 UEFA Champions League and four German Bundesliga titles as a Bayern midfielder. He also secured back-to-back Swiss Super League championships as coach of Basel from 2009–11.