Leipzig v Salzburg facts

UEFA Europa League matchday one brings together two clubs with close ties in German side Leipzig and Austrian neighbours Salzburg. The former are in the competition's group stage for the first time, having come through three qualifying rounds, while Salzburg, semi-finalists last season, are competing in the group stage for a record eighth time.

Previous meetings
• Leipzig are yet to face Austrian opposition in Europe, but Salzburg have a decent record against teams from across the border. Last season they won in Germany for the first time, a 2-1 victory at Dortmund setting up an aggregate success by the same scoreline in the UEFA Europa League round of 16.

• Salzburg claimed back-to-back second-leg successes in Germany away to Eintracht Frankfurt and Karlsruhe en route to the 1993/94 UEFA Cup final, winning a penalty shoot-out in the quarter-final against the former after a 1-0 defeat and eliminating the latter on away goals after a 1-1 draw.

Form guide
Leipzig
• Leipzig finished sixth in the 2017/18 Bundesliga to make it two European qualifications in a row, their debut continental campaign having ended in the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals – eliminated by Marseille – after they finished third in their UEFA Champions League group.

• Having defeated Häcken of Sweden and Romania's Universitatea Craiova in the first two qualifying rounds this season, Leipzig needed a last-gasp penalty from Emil Forsberg to win their play-off 3-2 on aggregate against Ukrainian club Zorya Luhansk.

• That Zorya victory prolonged Leipzig's winning run at home in Europe to five matches, having been victorious in just one of their first four (D1 L2).

Salzburg
• Champions of Austria for the fifth year running in 2017/18, Salzburg entered this season's UEFA Champions League in the third qualifying round, but their annual summer quest to reach the group stage ended in another near-miss as they surrendered a two-goal lead to lose out on away goals to Crvena zvezda in the play-offs (0-0 away, 2-2 home).

• Last season Salzburg enjoyed the most successful of their seven seasons in the UEFA Europa League proper, winning their group then eliminating Real Sociedad, Dortmund and Lazio before losing after extra time in the semi-final to Marseille.

• Until they went down 4-2 away to Lazio in the first leg of that 2017/18 quarter-final, Salzburg had gone 19 European games without defeat, ten of those on their travels (W5 D5). They have not conceded in their two away fixtures this term (W1 D1).

Links and trivia 
• Salzburg coach Marco Rose was born in Leipzig and played professionally in Germany. His assistant Alexander Zickler is also German and was capped 12 times by the national team, playing for Dynamo Dresden and Bayern München.

• Current Leipzig players Péter Gulácsi, Dayot Upamecano, Stefan Ilsanker, Kevin Kampl, Konrad Laimer and Marcel Sabitzer have all previously played for Salzburg, while Smail Prevljak joined Salzburg from the German club in 2014. Leipzig coach Ralf Rangnick also worked for Salzburg as director of sport.

• Salzburg's André Ramalho (Leverkusen), Marin Pongračić (1860 München), Zlatko Junuzović (Werder Bremen) and Reinhold Yabo (Köln, Aachen, Karlsruhe, Bielefeld) have all played in Germany.

• Ilsanker and Sabitzer were selected alongside four Salzburg players – Cican Stankovic, Stefan Lainer, Andreas Ulmer and Xaver Schlager – in the latest Austrian national squad.

The coaches
• Ralf Rangnick returned as RB Leipzig coach in the summer of 2018, having held the position in 2015/16 when he led the club into the Bundesliga. He has been the club's sporting director since 2012, his appointment having come after a premature departure from Schalke, where he was working for the second time following a highly successful sojourn at Hoffenheim during which he secured back-to-back promotions. He is set to be replaced as Leipzig coach by current Hoffenheim boss Julian Nagelsmann in 2019.

• Previously Salzburg's youth team boss, Marco Rose stepped up to the senior helm after Óscar García left in June 2017, having led the club to victory in the 2016/17 UEFA Youth League. A defender with home-town club Leipzig, Hannover and Mainz, he has been on Salzburg's coaching staff since 2013 and oversaw the club's fifth successive Austrian Bundesliga title as well as a run to the UEFA Europa League semi-finals during his debut campaign in the top job.