AZ out to oust Maccabi Haifa

AZ Alkmaar are within sight of the UEFA Europa League round of 32 once more, with Maccabi Haifa FC needing a win if they are to stand any chance of taking second place in Group L.

• AZ and PAOK FC are six points clear of Maccabi Haifa and FC Shakhter Karagandy in the section; Maccabi Haifa cannot catch PAOK because of their head-to-head record, and Shakhter cannot catch AZ for the same reason.

Previous meetings
• Jóhann Gudmundsson scored the only goal as AZ beat Maccabi Haifa 1-0 on matchday one. That was the Dutch side's first encounter with Israeli opponents.

• Maccabi's only previous experience of Dutch opposition was a 2000/01 UEFA Cup tie against a Vitesse XI led by future AZ coach Ronald Koeman; Maccabi lost 3-0 in Arnhem before a 2-1 victory in Haifa. Current Maccabi coach Arik Benado played in both games.

• Israeli sides have found it tough going in the 18 club games between Israeli and Dutch outfits, with the record W5 D1 L12 (W4 D0 L5 at home, W1 D1 L7 in the Netherlands).

Match background
• AZ have scored just once in each of their Group L games to date, but those four goals have earned them two wins and two 1-1 draws.

• AZ are appearing in this group stage for the seventh time; losing UEFA Cup finalists in 1980/81, they made it through to the semi-finals after coming through the inaugural UEFA Cup group stage in 2004/05. In total, they have qualified four times.

• Maccabi Haifa are without a win in four European away games (D3 L1) since beating Xäzär Länkäran FK 8-0 in this season's second qualifying round. Their four away goals in Group L have netted them just one point.

• This is Maccabi's third attempt at this group stage. They made it through as far as the round of 16 on their UEFA Cup group stage debut in 2006/07 but missed the cut in 2011/12.

Team facts
• Maccabi Haifa's Brazilian midfielder Gustavo Boccoli could make his 50th UEFA club competition appearance in Alkmaar.

• Alongside double winners NK Maribor (Slovenia) and Legia Warszawa (Poland), AZ are one of 11 teams in the group stage who are domestic cup holders, along with Wigan Athletic FC (England, FA Cup), Swansea City AFC (England, League Cup), FC Girondins de Bordeaux (France), Apollon Limassol FC (Cyprus), KRC Genk (Belgium), SS Lazio (Italy), Vitória SC (Portugal) and Esbjerg fB (Denmark).

• Maccabi left-back Shmuel Scheimann has experience of Dutch football having represented FC Den Bosch and SBV Excelsior from 2008 to 2012. He came up against AZ three times during that period, but was never on the winning side (D1 L2).

Coach information
• AZ dismissed coach Gertjan Verbeek ahead of matchday two. He had been in charge since 2010, and led the club to Dutch Cup success last season.

• Dick Advocaat was named as AZ's new coach on 16 October, returning to the club where he had spent five months in charge at the end of the 2009/10 season. Twice Netherlands coach, the 66-year-old won the 2007/08 UEFA Cup with FC Zenit, as well as national titles with PSV Einhdhoven (1997/98), Rangers FC (1998/99, 1999/2000) and Zenit (2007).

• Advocaat is one of four coaches in the group stage to have had his hands on the trophy before. PAOK's Huub Stevens, who won it as a player (PSV Eindhoven, 1978) and a coach (FC Schalke 04, 1997), FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk's coach Juande Ramos (Sevilla FC, 2006 and 2007) and Tottenham Hotspur FC manager André Villas-Boas (FC Porto, 2011) are the others.

• Israel's most capped player, with 94 international appearances, former defender Arik Benado has been coach of Maccabi since November 2012, having won seven of his nine domestic titles with the club – the other two coming during a spell at Beitar Jerusalem FC. After retiring at the end of 2010/11, Benado returned to the club that his father Shlomo had also played for as a youth coach before being given the first-team job.