Sevilla v İstanbul Başakşehir: play-off facts and stats

Previous meetings
• Wissam Ben Yedder’s strike six minutes from time earned Sevilla a 2-1 victory in the first leg of the teams’ play-off tie on 16 August. Eljero Elia (64) had cancelled out Sergio Escudero’s first-half opener for the Spanish Liga side.

• Sevilla’s three other meetings with Turkish club’s in UEFA competition ended:
3-2 v Fenerbahçe SK (2007/08 UEFA Champions League round of 16)*
2-3 v Fenerbahçe SK (2007/08 UEFA Champions League round of 16)
3-0 v Beşiktaş JK (2005/06 UEFA Cup group stage)
* Lost tie on penalties (see ‘Penalty shoot-outs’ below)

• The first leg was İstanbul Başakşehir’s first encounter with a Spanish club in UEFA competition.

Match background
• Sevilla are aiming to qualify for the group stage for the third season in a row.

• In 2016/17, Sevilla reached the UEFA Champions League round of 16 – the first time they had got past the group stage since 2009/10 – where they lost 3-2 on aggregate to Leicester City FC.

• Sevilla qualified by finishing fourth in the 2016/17 Spanish Liga.

• İstanbul Başakşehir qualified by finishing second in the 2016/17 Turkish Super League.

• The Turkish team got to this stage by beating Club Brugge KV 5-3 on aggregate in the third qualifying round (3-3 away, 2-0 home).

• The 2-0 home triumph over Club Brugge on 2 August is İstanbul Başakşehir’s only victory in nine UEFA fixtures.

• This is only İstanbul Başakşehir’s third European campaign, and their first in the UEFA Champions League. In 2015/16 they lost their opening tie, in the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round, 4-1 on aggregate to AZ Alkmaar.

• In 2016/17, İstanbul Başakşehir beat Croatia’s HNK Rijeka on away goals in the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round (0-0 home, 2-2 away) before losing to FC Shakhar Donetsk in the next stage (1-2 home, 0-2 away).

• Away from home, İstanbul Başakşehir’s European record is W0 D2 L2.

Team and coach links
• İstanbul Başakşehir’s Emmanuel Adebayor and Gaël Clichy featured in a 3-0 success for Arsenal FC against Sevilla in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Adebayor played on loan for Real Madrid CF in the second half of the 2010/11 campaign, scoring against Sevilla (2-0) in the return leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final.

• Sevilla’s Simon Kjær spent the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons with Fenerbahçe, facing the Owls three times in the league (W2 L1). He also played against them in a Turkish Cup semi-final last term that finished 4-4 on aggregate, İstanbul Başakşehir going through 10-9 on penalties.

• İstanbul Başakşehir midfielder Emre Belözoğlu was with Club Atlético de Madrid in the first half of the 2012/13 campaign, making seven Liga appearances.

Coach profiles
• Sevilla boss Eduardo Berizzo played in Spain, France and Argentina as a defender, with Marcelo Bielsa, his first coach at CA Newell’s Old Boys, having a profound influence on him. After assisting Bielsa with the Chilean national team, he pursued his own coaching career and landed the job at former employers RC Celta de Vigo, taking the Galicians to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League for the first time in 2016/17.

• Abdullah Avcı guided Turkey to the UEFA European Under-17 Championship title in 2005 and the semi-finals of the FIFA U-17 World Cup later that year. He took charge of İstanbul Başakşehir in 2006 and, on the back of several solid seasons, succeeded Guus Hiddink as senior Turkey coach in November 2011. Avcı resigned 21 months later, returning to İstanbul Başakşehir in summer 2014.