UEFA Europa League Group Stage Key Stats

The UEFA Europa League gets underway with some exciting fixtures expected to keep fans at the edge of their seats. The main talking point is seeing Cristiano Ronaldo participating in the tournament as his Manchester United side are expected to welcome Spanish opposition Real Sociedad. One thing fans are certain of is the mouthwatering battles, shockers and remarkable performances by the minnows. Let’s take a look at the key statistics ahead of the opening round of fixtures. 

Manchester United v Real Sociedad

– Manchester United have never conceded in four previous meetings with Real Sociedad (W2 D2), facing no side more often in their history without conceding a goal.

– Real Sociedad have never won against English opponents in Europe (D2 L4), scoring only once across six matches. Nonetheless, they did avoid defeat in their last match against English opponents – a 0-0 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford in February 2021.

– Real Sociedad’s David Silva has three goals and two assists in eight appearances against Manchester United at Old Trafford, all coming in the Premier League with Manchester City between 2011 and 2019.

– Manchester United are currently unbeaten across their last 18 home matches in the UEFA Europa League (W14 D4), starting with victory against FC Midtjylland in February 2016 – this run follows on from losing both of their first two home matches in the competition in 2012.

– Manchester United boss Erik ten Tag has lost eight of his 20 home matches in major European competitions as a manager (40%), compared to only two of his 20 away matches (10%).

FC Zurich v Arsenal

– Zürich have won three of their 10 matches against English opponents in Europe (L7), although all three victories came in home matches, most recently beating Aston Villa 2-0 in the UEFA Intertoto Cup in July 2002.

– Arsenal have won all six of their matches to date against Swiss opposition, though they will face Zürich for the first time. The Gunners’ last trip to Switzerland saw them defeat Basel in the UEFA Champions League in December 2016, with a hat-trick from Lucas Pérez.

– After losing just one of their first 11 home matches in the UEFA Europa League (W6 D4), Zürich have since lost each of their last two home matches in the competition.

– Arsenal have won 75% of their group stage matches in the UEFA Europa League (P24 W18 D4 L2). Of the 94 teams to have participated in the group stages of this competition on at least three previous occasions, only Zenit have a better win rate (79% – 19/24).

– Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah has scored in the last two games he started in the UEFA Europa League; he could become the fifth Englishman to score in three consecutive starts in the competition, after Bobby Zamora, Jermain Defoe, Harry Kane and James Tavernier.

Lazio v Feyenoord

– Lazio and Feyenoord will face off in a European campaign for just the second time, previously meeting during the second group stage of the UEFA Champions League in 1999-2000.

– Feyenoord won their only previous away game against Lazio, beating them 2-1 in the UEFA Champions League in February 2000 thanks to a second-half brace from Jon Dahl Tomasson.

– Lazio have drawn each of their last three home matches in Europe – they have never drawn four in a row at home in European competitions.

-Including qualifying, Feyenoord played 19 games in the UEFA Conference League last season and lost only twice (W12 D5), in their final qualifier against IF Elfsborg, and in the final against Roma.

– Lazio have played 78 games in the UEFA Europa League since the rebrand in 2009-10, second only to Villarreal (88). They have played the most games of any side yet to win the competition.

Ludogorets v Roma

– This will be the first competitive meeting between Ludogorets Razgrad and Roma

– Ludogorets Razgrad have lost each of their last four matches against Italian sides, losing home and away against Milan in 2017-18, and Inter in 2019-20, both in this competition.

– This will be Roma’s 11th match against Bulgarian opposition, with each of the last eight coming against CSKA Sofia. Indeed, Roma have won seven of the previous 10 games (D1 L2).

– Ludogorets Razgrad are currently winless in 18 UEFA Europa League matches (D4 L14), which is the longest winless run in the competition’s history.

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