Away goal anchors Getafe bid

An away goal will buoy Getafe CF's ambitions as they go into the home leg of their UEFA Cup Round of 32 tie against AEK Athens FC with the scores level at 1-1.

• A late Ismael Blanco equaliser denied Getafe an away victory in Greece after Rubén de la Red had opened the scoring on 86 minutes – an away goal could which could prove crucial in the return leg in Spain.

• Midfielder Jaime Gavilán will not play in the return fixture after being taken off in the first leg following a clash of heads with AEK's Rodolfo Arruabarrena. He spent the night in an Athens hospital for observation but was released the following morning and allowed to fly home. Gavilán has been signed off for two weeks as a precautionary measure, saying: "I'm lucky to be alive. I would rather not watch the replay of the accident on television. I now see life from a different perspective."

• AEK have now played 17 games against Spanish sides, winning two, drawing five and losing ten. Their eight previous trips to Spain have ended in two draws and six defeats.

• AEK have not won home or away against a Spanish side since beating Athletic Club Bilbao 1-0 at home in the first round of the 1988/89 UEFA Cup.

• Prior to the first leg, Getafe had never met Greek opponents before. In their first season in European competition, the 1-1 result against AEK was their first draw in seven European games.

• The next goal AEK let in will be the 250th they have conceded in UEFA club competition.

• AEK qualified for the Round of 32 by finishing third in Group C. Getafe finished top of Group G.

• AEK dismissed Spanish coach Lorenzo Serra Ferrer the day before the first leg following defeats by Panionios GSS and Larissa FC which saw them drop from first place to third in the Greek Super League. He had been in charge since the summer of 2006.

• Former AEK player Nikolaos Kostenoglou led the Athens side in the first leg. He said: "I respected and will always respect Lorenzo Serra Ferrer, but the important thing right now is to lift team morale ahead of a crucial match."

• Getafe coach Michael Laudrup scored once in six games against Greek sides as a player. He was in the Denmark side that won 2-0 against Greece at AEK's OACA Spyro Louis Stadium in a 1984 UEFA European Championship qualifier, and subsequently played both legs in Juventus' second-round tie with Panathinaikos FC in the 1987/88 UEFA Cup, which the Greek side won on away goals.

• His only goal against Greek opponents came as Denmark beat the national team 7-1 in Copenhagen in a FIFA World Cup qualifier in 1989, and he was also in the team that beat Greece 2-1 at home in another World Cup qualifier in 1996 before drawing 0-0 on his most recent trip to Athens, 11 October 1997.

• AEK defender Arruabarrena and Getafe goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri were team-mates at Argentinian side CA Boca Juniors between 1997 and 2000.

• The aggregate winners will meet the victors of the tie between SL Benfica and 1. FC Nürnberg in the Round of 16 on 6 and 12/13 March, playing the first leg at home.

• AEK's Nikolaos Liberopoulos, Geraldo and Edson Ramos Silva are within a booking of a one-match suspension. Getafe's Esteban Granero is available again after being suspended for the first leg, but team-mates Albín, Pablo Hernández and Braulio are all a booking shy of a ban.

• Winter UEFA Cup registrations
Getafe: In – Jaime Gavilán, Manuel Tena.
Out – Francisco Sousa, Nacho.
AEK: In – Mohamed Kallon, Panagiotis Lagos.
Out – Christos Bourmpos, Elhadji Diouf.