Baku. 18 October. REPORT.AZ/ The official website of UEFA has released statistics on Qarabag – Vorskla match in Baku in the 3rd round of the Europa League group stage.
Report informs that Qarabag and Vorskla Poltava both have it all to do in UEFA Europa League Group E as they meet in Baku without a collective point to their name from their opening two matches.
Qarabag have yet to score in the group, losing at Sporting CP (0-2) and at home to Arsenal (0-3), while Vorskla have also been beaten twice, going down 4-2 in London before conceding twice late on at home to turn victory into defeat against Sporting (1-2).
Qarabağ
Champions of Azerbaijan for the fifth successive year in 2017/18, Qarabag are also competing in a UEFA group stage for the fifth season running, three appearances in the UEFA Europa League preceding last season's landmark UEFA Champions League adventure. BATE Borisov blocked their route back into that competition this season, in the third qualifying round, but a UEFA Europa League play-off victory against FC Sheriff kept that sequence of group stage appearances going.
Qarabag have never extended a European campaign into the spring. Their home record in the UEFA Europa League group stage is W2 D4 L4, the only victories coming against Anderlecht in 2015/16 (1-0) and PAOK in 2016/17 (2-0).
Qarabağ have won just two of their last eight European fixtures in Baku and are without a home win in five group games, four defeats supplemented by a goalless draw against Atlético Madrid in last season's UEFA Champions League.
Vorskla
Vorskla secured a place in this season's UEFA Europa League group stage by finishing third in the 2017/18 Ukrainian Premier League – their joint-highest ever final placing, matching their achievement in 1996/97, when they qualified for Europe for the first time.
This is the club's seventh European campaign and their second in the UEFA Europa League group stage. They had to win three qualifying ties to make the grade in 2011/12, including a play-off success against Dinamo Bucureşti, but their six group games yielded just two points and bottom place in a section featuring Standard Liège, Hannover and FC København.
That tie against Dinamo also featured Vorskla's last European away win (3-2). Since then six trips abroad have brought two draws and four defeats.
Qarabag's Albanian defender Ansi Agolli joined the club from Ukrainian side Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih in January 2012. Vorskla midfielder Aleksandre Kobakhidze was his Kryvbas team-mate in 2009/10.
Vorskla have never won a UEFA Europa League group fixture in eight attempts. Only two clubs have played more games in the competition proper without a victory – Slovan Bratislava and Gabala on 12 apiece.
Qarabag coach Gurban Gurbanov is Azerbaijan's highest-scoring international with 12 goals in 64 matches. While he regularly changed club as a player, he celebrated ten years as head coach of Qarabag in August 2018, during which time he has led the club to five successive national league titles, four Azerbaijani Cups and regular European group stage involvement, including a maiden UEFA Champions League adventure in 2017/18. He has doubled up as the coach of Azerbaijan since November 2017.
A tall centre-forward, Vasyl Sachko played in the Ukrainian top flight for Volyn Lutsk and Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih before moving to Vorskla in 2008. He has been with the Poltava club ever since, four years as a player then two as assistant coach before taking on the head coach role in the summer of 2014. As a result of leading Vorskla to third place in Ukraine in 2017/18, he qualified the club for the UEFA Europa League group stage, of which he had a brief taste as a player in 2011/12.
Notably, Qarabag – Vorskla match which will be held on October 25 in Baku Olympic Stadium, starts at 20:55.