Salzburg v Rosenborg background

UEFA Europa League Group B leaders Salzburg host bottom club Rosenborg seeking to maintain their perfect start with a third successive victory.

• The Austrian champions added a 3-1 home win over Celtic to an opening-night 3-2 success at RB Leipzig, whereas their Norwegian counterparts have emerged point-less from their games, losing 0-1 at Celtic before going down 1-3 at home to Leipzig.

Previous meetings
• This is the first UEFA competition fixture between the clubs and Salzburg's maiden encounter against a team from Norway.

• Rosenborg's record against Austrian opposition is W3 D1 L4. Their one away win came in their only previous UEFA Europa League group game on Austrian soil – 2-1 at Rapid Wien on matchday one of 2012/13. They also defeated their Viennese opponents at home (3-2), but in their most recent tie against an Austrian club, in the 2016/17 UEFA Europa League play-offs against Austria Wien, they lost both matches 2-1.

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 previous 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 14 European home games, winning ten. Their overall home record in the UEFA Europa League group stage is W14 D3 L5, the last defeat in the Stadion Salzburg coming on matchday three of the 2016/17 campaign – 0-1 against Nice.

Rosenborg
• A record 25th Norwegian title in 2017 earned Rosenborg a place in this season's UEFA Champions League qualifying phase. After going out to Celtic they won all four of their UEFA Europa League qualifiers against Cork City and Shkëndija to secure a second successive season in the group stage.

• Rosenborg finished third in their UEFA Europa League group last season – behind Zenit and Real Sociedad – and have yet to progress into the knockout phase in four attempts. Indeed every one of their last 12 European group stage participations across all competitions has been unsuccessful.

• A pair of 2-0 away wins against Cork and Shkëndija reversed Rosenborg's fortunes on their European travels after five games without a win (D1 L4), but the 0-1 defeat at Celtic on matchday one means they have still won only once away in 13 UEFA Europa League group stage encounters (D2 L10) – that 2-1 victory at Rapid Wien in 2012/13.

Links and trivia 
• Salzburg forward Fredrik Gulbrandsen is a Norwegian international. He scored for Molde in a 2-0 win against Rosenborg during his club's 2014 title-winning season, having also found the net against the Trondheim club for Lillestrøm three years earlier.

• Salzburg's Munas Dabbur is the 2018/19 UEFA Europa League’s joint top scorer with three goals – level with Leverkusen's Kai Havertz and Dinamo Zagreb's Izet Hajrović.

• The first of Dabbur's two goals against Celtic on matchday two was Salzburg's 100th in the UEFA Europa League, group stage to final, a landmark previously reached by just two clubs – Villarreal and Athletic Club.

• Salzburg are competing in the UEFA Europa League proper for the eighth time – a record they share with Ajax and Sporting CP. The game against Celtic was the Austrian club's 44th in the group stage – a competition record.

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.

• A defender who played for Go Ahead Eagles, Heracles, De Graafschap and AZ Alkmaar in his native Netherlands, Rini Coolen has over 20 years of coaching experience, albeit mostly as an assistant. Before taking over as Rosenborg's interim boss in July 2018 following the dismissal of Kåre Ingebrigtsen, his last head coach role had been a brief stint at the helm of the Aruba national team in 2015. He has also worked in Australia and Dubai.