Victorious streaks at stake

Rangers FC and AZ Alkmaar go into their UEFA Cup Group F meeting on 2 December with 17 straight wins between them. uefa.com rounds up the weekend's domestic news.

Rangers
Rangers went top of the Scottish Premier League after a Nacho Novo double helped them come from behind to defeat fellow UEFA Cup contenders Heart of Midlothian FC 3-2, their eighth consecutive victory. Manager Alex McLeish included Alex Rae in midfield and Maurice Ross replaced the injured Grégory Vignal at left-back. But Ross went off at the interval and his substitute, 19-year-old Steven Smith, could feature on Thursday when Rangers look for the win against AZ which would guarantee their place in the last 32.

Alkmaar
Alkmaar remained in second place in the Dutch Eredivisie, winning 2-1 at FC Groningen to record their ninth successive victory in all competitions. Barry van Galen headed Co Adriaanse's team in front before Barry Opdam followed up Glenn Salmon's equaliser to give AZ the points. Finnish international Juha Reini is still out with an achilles injury and will miss the Rangers game. A home success on Thursday would secure qualification.

Auxerre
AJ Auxerre lost 2-1 at Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Lyonnais on Saturday. Auxerre fell two behind inside the first half-hour and although Benoît Cheyrou scored a consolation goal, they could not find a leveller. Guy Roux's side have suffered a string of injuries with defensive duo Younes Kaboul (ankle) and Johan Radet (knee) recently sidelined. Winger Bonaventure Kalou is also a doubt for Thursday's crucial home match against KS Amica Wronki with a pulled hamstring.

Amica
Amica beat ten-man Zaglebie Lubin 2-1 away from home to continue their fine form in the Polish Cup. The goals came from midfield players Marcin Burkhardt and Zbigniew Grzybowski. Despite effectively bowing out of the UEFA Cup last week, Amica travel to Auxerre with hope, and vice-president Arkadiusz Kasprzak said: "This may be the chance for us to get points and very important experience."

GAK
Grazer AK fell to a 2-1 home defeat by SV Pasching which meant they stayed fourth in the Austrian Bundesliga. Roland Kollmann scored the only goal for GAK, who struggled in the absence of suspended captain Anton Ehmann. Walter Schachner's team are not in action this week but complete their group fixtures when they welcome AZ to Austria on 15 December.