AaB v Steaua background

Aalborg BK can put the brakes on FC Steaua Bucureşti's round of 32 ambitions if they manage to avenge a heavy UEFA Europa League Group J defeat on matchday five.

Form guide
• Claudiu Keșerü scored the fastest hat-trick in UEFA Europa League history – three goals within 12 minutes – as Steaua beat AaB 6-0 on matchday one. It was AaB's heaviest defeat in this competition and Steaua's joint biggest European win.

• AaB's first ever visitors from Romania, Steaua are yet to win in three games in Denmark (D2 L1).

• AaB won their two previous Group J home fixtures without conceding; Steaua are without a victory in four UEFA away matches (D2 L2).

Trivia and links
• Steaua's Raul Rusescu is one of four players on five goals in this season's group stage, along with Jonatan Soriano (FC Salzburg), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur FC) and David Lafata (AC Sparta Praha). Rusescu has scored his five goals in three group stage outings, with all the other five-goal strikers taking four matches to reach their total.

• Steaua's Portuguese defender Fernando Varela turns 27 on the eve of matchday five.

The coaches
• Kent Nielsen led Aalborg to a domestic double in 2013/14 after taking command in 2010. Having turned out – like his father and brother – for Bronshøj BK, Nielsen won titles with Brøndby IF and played abroad with Aston Villa FC. Capped 54 times, he coached AGF Aarhus, AC Horsens and Brøndby before taking up his current role.

• Nielsen's Brøndby lost out to Romanian opponents in the 1987/88 UEFA Cup second round, with FC Sportul Studentesc Bucureşti beating them on penalties. He also played against Romania four times with Denmark, scoring in a 2-1 victory in 1987 and a 3-0 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifying success.

• Steaua coach Constantin Gâlcă was capped 68 times as a midfielder and played in Spain with RCD Mallorca, RCD Espanyol and Villarreal CF among others after making his name at Steaua. He took charge of his old club in June 2014 following a spell working as Romania's Under-17 coach.