Salzburg v Celtic facts

Victory for either Salzburg or Celtic would give them a three-point lead at the top of UEFA Europa League Group B after two matches. Both clubs got off to a winning start, the Austrian champions beating RB Leipzig 3-2 in Germany and their Scottish counterparts scoring late to overcome Rosenborg 1-0 in Glasgow.

Previous meetings
• The teams have been drawn together just once before – in the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League group stage. The first game in Salzburg ended 2-2, with the Austrian side subsequently winning 3-1 at Celtic Park.

• Those are Salzburg's only previous matches against Scottish opposition, whereas Celtic have come up against Austrian clubs on ten occasions, winning only twice and never on Austrian soil, where their record is D2 L3.

Form guide
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.

• Salzburg are undefeated in 13 European home games, winning nine. Their overall home record in the UEFA Europa League group stage is W13 D3 L5, the last defeat coming against Nice (0-1) on matchday three of the 2016/17 campaign.

Celtic
• Celtic won the Scottish treble of Premiership, Scottish Cup and League Cup for the second successive season in 2017/18, but they were unable to secure a hat-trick of UEFA Champions League group stage appearances this term, their elimination of Rosenborg followed by defeat to AEK Athens. A 4-1 aggregate victory over Lithuanian champions Sūduva in the UEFA Europa League play-offs maintained Celtic's post-summer interest in Europe.

• This is Celtic's fifth season in the UEFA Europa League group stage. Three of their four previous campaigns have ended in elimination, the exception 2014/15, when they reached the round of 32. They also got to that stage of the competition last season after finishing third in their UEFA Champions League group, but lost to Zenit.

• The Glasgow club have never won away from home in 12 UEFA Europa League group games (D8 L4), but they have scored in all but two of them, including each of the last eight.

Links and trivia 
• Marin Pongračić (Salzburg) and Filip Benković (Celtic) are Under-21 international team-mates for Croatia.

• Fredrik Gulbrandsen – who scored Salzburg's late matchday one winner in Leipzig - played for Norwegian side Lillestrøm when Kristoffer Ajer was a youth player at the club. They subsequently went on to face each other in domestic competition after Gulbrandsen moved to Molde and Ajer joined Start.

• Munas Dabbur (Salzburg) and Nir Bitton (Celtic) have played together for Israel.

• Salzburg are competing in the UEFA Europa League proper for the eighth time – a record they share with Ajax and Sporting CP. The matchday one encounter at Leipzig was the Austrian club's 43rd in the group stage – a competition record they now hold alone.

• Salzburg need one more goal to reach a century in the competition, a landmark reached thus far by just two clubs – Villarreal and Athletic Club.

The coaches
• 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.

• Celtic's Northern Irish boss Brendan Rodgers retired early as a player but made his name in management at Swansea, steering the Welsh club into England's top flight before leaving for Liverpool in June 2012. He led the Reds to a Premier League runners-up spot in 2013/14 but was dismissed in October 2015, resurfacing at Celtic, where he won the Scottish treble with an undefeated record in his first season. All three trophies were successfully defended in 2017/18, making Rodgers the first Hoops manager to win the 'Double Treble'.