Salzburg on the brink against Ajax

FC Salzburg have one foot in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 as AFC Ajax come to Austria still smarting from a 3-0 first-leg defeat in Amsterdam.

Previous meetings
• In the first leg Jonatan Soriano (14, 35) struck either side of a Mané effort (21) as Ajax matched their worst previous home defeat in the competition, while Salzburg recorded their fifth three-goal win on the road in the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League.

• It was Salzburg's first win against Ajax at the fifth attempt, with their record in those ties now reading W1 D2 L2 (W0 D1 L1 in Austria). Current Ajax coach Frank de Boer featured in all five matches, the first four as a player.

• The teams first met in the 1992/93 UEFA Cup first round, Louis van Gaal's Ajax beating Otto Barić's Salzburg 3-0 in Austria and 3-1 in Amsterdam.

• The teams in Salzburg on 16 September 1992 were:
Salzburg: Ilsanker, Lainer (Lipa 46), Weber, Garger, Ergović (Reisinger 65), Reinmayr, Jurčević, Willfurth, Sabitzer, Feiersinger, Stadler.
Ajax: Menzo, Alflen, Blind, Jonk, F de Boer, Vink, Overmars, Kreek, Pettersson, Bergkamp, Roy (Davids 30).

• The same coaches were in charge when the sides drew 0-0 in Salzburg and 1-1 in Amsterdam in the group stage of the 1994/95 UEFA Champions League, which Ajax went on to win.

• The teams for the Salzburg encounter on 2 November 1994 were:
Salzburg: Konrad, Lainer, Kocijan (Hassenhüttl 78), Mladenović (Hütter 75), Fürstaller, Winklhofer, Jurčević, Artner, Pfeifenberger, Feiersinger, Hiden.
Ajax: Van der Sar, Reiziger, Blind, Rijkaard, F de Boer, R de Boer, Overmars (Kreek 46), Seedorf, Kluivert (Kanu 67), Litmanen, Van Vossen.

Match background
• Ajax have played ten games against Austrian sides with the record W4 D3 L3 (W1 D2 L1 in Austria).

• Salzburg's nine encounters with Dutch clubs have ended W3 D3 L3 (W2 D1 L1 at home).

• Ajax are in the round of 32 for the sixth successive season. Of those five previous ties they won two and lost three, including the most recent two – against Manchester United FC in 2011/12 and FC Steaua Bucureşti last season.

• Salzburg and Tottenham Hotspur FC came through this season's group stage with 100% records. Only three other sides have won all six of their group matches since the advent of the UEFA Europa League: Salzburg (2009/10), FC Zenit (2010/11) and RSC Anderlecht (2011/12).

• Salzburg are on a run of four straight European home wins, and are unbeaten in their last six UEFA fixtures at the Stadion Salzburg (W5 D1).

• Ajax are without a win in seven European away fixtures (D2 L5) since a 2-1 victory at Manchester United in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg.

Team facts
• No side has overturned a three-goal deficit to win a UEFA Europa League tie, though FC Internazionale Milano came close last year, taking Tottenham Hotspur FC to extra time after overturning a 3-0 deficit before losing on away goals (4-1).

• Two goals against Ajax put Soriano back on top of this season's UEFA Europa League scorers rankings with six.

• Ajax are one of nine former UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League winners, and nine domestic champions, in the round of 32.

• Salzburg are the top scorers in this season's competition with 18 goals, three more than ACF Fiorentina, Tottenham, Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Rubin Kazan. They have also had more attempts on (51) and off target (46) than any other club.

• Salzburg's Hungarian goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi and Ajax's Danish defender Christian Poulsen were team-mates at Liverpool FC from 2011-12, though Gulácsi spent much of that period out on loan and never made a senior appearance for the Reds.

• Poulsen is 34 the day after the game.

• The UEFA Europa League's 2,500th goal was registered by Salzburg's Senegal midfielder Sadio Mané as he rounded off the scoring in a 3-0 home win against Esbjerg fB on matchday six.

Coach information
• Salzburg coach Roger Schmidt agreed a two-year contract extension in December, binding him to the club until 2016. A lower-league midfielder in his native Germany, he combined football with work as an apprentice toolmaker before studying mechanical engineering. He moved into coaching with Delbrücker SC, SC Preussen Münster and SC Paderborn 07 before signing for Salzburg in 2012.

• Since taking charge in December 2010, Frank de Boer has led Ajax to three consecutive titles in the Netherlands. He and twin brother Ronald came through the ranks at the club, where Frank won five league titles as well as the 1991/92 UEFA Cup and 1994/95 UEFA Champions League. The 112-times capped defender lifted another domestic title in Spain with FC Barcelona, later playing for Rangers FC and Galatasaray AŞ before moving into coaching.

• De Boer celebrates his 44th birthday on 15 May 2014, the day after this season's UEFA Europa League final.

• De Boer is one of three coaches in the round of 32 who have won this competition as players, along with PAOK FC's Huub Stevens (PSV Eindhoven, 1978) and Juventus's Antonio Conte (Juventus, 1993).

Shoot-out record
• Salzburg won their only previous UEFA competition penalty shoot-out:
won 5-4 (away) v Eintracht Frankurt, 1993/94 UEFA Cup quarter-finals

• Ajax's record in six UEFA shoot-outs is W1 L5:
lost 4-2 (away) v FC Steaua Bucureşti, 2012/13 UEFA Europa League round of 32
lost 4-2 (neutral) v Juventus, 1995/96 UEFA Champions League final
won 4-3 (neutral) v Grêmio FBPA, 1995 European/South American Cup
lost 4-2 (away) v CU Bohemians Praha, 1984/85 UEFA Cup second roundl
lost 3-0 (away) v Juventus, 1977/78 European Champion Clubs' Cup quarter-finals
lost 5-3 (away) v PFC Levski Sofia, 1974/75 UEFA Cup third round

Round of 16
• The winners of this tie will meet Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC or FC Basel 1893 in the round of 16, with the second leg at home.

• Salzburg have never met either of their potential opponents.

• Ajax met Maccabi in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League group stage, winning 3-0 at home but going down 2-1 in Israel. They came across Basel in the second round of the 1970/71 European Champion Clubs' Cup, prevailing 3-0 at home and 2-1 away en route to winning the competition.