UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - 2018/19 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS Stade Josy Barthel - Luxembourg Thursday 13 December 2018 21.00CET (21.00 local time) F91 Dudelange Group F - Matchday 6 Real Betis Balompié Last updated 12/12/2018 04:02CET Match background 2 Legend 4 1 F91 Dudelange - Real Betis Balompié Thursday 13 December 2018 - 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Match press kit Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg Match background Luxembourg's F91 Dudelange bid farewell to a first UEFA Europa League group campaign that has brought five defeats but plenty of dogged determination. They will hope to sign off in style against unbeaten Real Betis, whose place in the knockout phase is already secure and who are now looking to go through as Group F winners. • Dudelange almost caused a sensation on matchday five when they led seven-time European champions AC Milan 2- 1 at San Siro midway through the second half, but they eventually ran out of steam. The 5-2 defeat was their fifth out of five and the second game in a row in which they had conceded five goals. Their total of 16 goals against is the highest in the group stage. • Betis booked their round of 32 ticket by beating Olympiacos 1-0 in Seville last time out. They have taken four points off both the Greek side and Milan and will top the group with a win against Dudelange, or if the Rossoneri do not win in Piraeus. Previous meetings • Betis had never faced a team from Luxembourg, nor had Dudelange encountered opposition from Spain, before the club's matchday two meeting in Seville, which the Andalusian club won 3-0 with three second-half goals. Form guide Dudelange • The premier force in Luxembourg since the turn of the millennium, Dudelange won their 14th national championship last season, completing a hat-trick of titles. They narrowly lost this season's UEFA Champions League first qualifying round tie against Hungary's Vidi but made historic amends by subsequently overcoming Drita, Legia Warszawa and, in the play-offs, CFR Cluj to reach the UEFA Europa League group stage. • Dudelange's previous best European performance came in 2012/13, when they reached the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round before falling to Hapoel Tel-Aviv in the UEFA Europa League play-offs (1-3 home, 0-4 away). • Since then Dudelange have lost only three of 11 home games in Europe (W3 D5) and although they have drawn blanks in both group games against Milan (0-1) and Olympiacos (0-2), they did find the net twice in all three home fixtures in this season's UEFA Europa League qualifying phase (W2 D1). Betis • Betis finished one place and two points above Sevilla in last season's Liga to clinch an automatic UEFA Europa League group stage spot at their city rivals' expense. • Prior to this season, Betis's last opponents in Europe were Sevilla, and it was a painful experience as they lost to the eventual winners on penalties in the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League round of 16. That was the club's first European adventure in eight years, their six group games featuring just five goals in total but the three they scored proving sufficient to take them into the round of 32. There they overcame Rubin 3-1 on aggregate before the dramatic all- Seville contest in which both clubs won 2-0 at their opponents' stadium. • Betis have lost only one of their last nine European away games, winning five, including 2-1 at Milan on matchday three, and have not conceded more than once in any match during that stretch, keeping five clean sheets. Links and trivia • Dudelange are one of five clubs playing in the UEFA Europa League proper for the first time this season – and the very first from Luxembourg, the 39th nation to be represented in the competition's group stage. • Dudelange are also one of three clubs yet to record a point in this season's UEFA Europa League group stage – alongside Rosenborg (Group B) and fellow debutants Akhisar (J). Only four teams have ever exited the competition after losing all six group games – Shamrock Rovers (2011/12), Metalist Kharkiv (2014/15), Slovan Bratislava (2014/15) and Gabala (2016/17). The coaches • The son of Klaus Toppmöller, the coach who led Bayer Leverkusen to the 2002 UEFA Champions League final, Dino had a lengthy career in Germany's lower leagues before ending it as a player-coach with Luxembourg side Hamm Benfica. Having steered the club to promotion, he joined Dudelange in 2016 and promptly won the Luxembourg double, adding a second league title in 2017/18 and then defying the odds to mastermind a landmark qualification for the UEFA Europa League group stage. • A former midfielder capped three times by Spain, Santander-born Quique Setién spent most of his playing career with home-town club Real Racing Club, his two lengthy spells there interrupted by shorter stints at Atlético Madrid and Logroñés. His coaching career also began at Racing and eventually prospered in the Canary Islands with Las Palmas. 2 F91 Dudelange - Real Betis Balompié Thursday 13 December 2018 - 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Match press kit Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg He returned to the Spanish mainland to take charge of Betis in May 2017, leading the Seville club to sixth spot in the Liga at the end of his first season. 3 F91 Dudelange - Real Betis Balompié Thursday 13 December 2018 - 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Match press kit Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg Legend Competitions Club competitions National team competitions UCL: UEFA Champions League EURO: UEFA European Football Championship ECCC: European Champion Clubs' Cup WC: FIFA World Cup UEL: UEFA Europa League CONFCUP: FIFA Confederations Cup UCUP: UEFA Cup FRIE: Friendly internationals UCWC: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup U21FRIE: Under-21 friendly internationals SCUP: UEFA Super Cup U21: UEFA European Under-21 Championship UIC: UEFA Intertoto Cup U17: UEFA Under-17 Championship ICF: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup U16: UEFA European Under-16 Championship U19: UEFA Under-19 Championship U18: UEFA European Under-18 Championship WWC: FIFA Women's World Cup WEURO: UEFA European Women's Championship Competition stages Other abbreviations F: Final GS: Group stage (aet): After extra time pens: Penalties GS1: First group stage GS2: Second group stage No.: Number og: Own goal 3QR: Third qualifying round R1: First round ag: Match decided on away P: Penalty R2: Second round R3: Third round goals agg: Aggregate R4: Fourth round PR: Preliminary round Pld: Matches played AP: Appearances SF: Semi-finals QF: Quarter-finals Pos.: Position Comp.: Competition R16: round of 16 QR: Qualifying round Pts: Points D: Drawn R32: Round of 32 1QR: First qualifying round R: Sent off (straight red card) DoB: Date of birth 1st: first leg 2QR: Second qualifying Res.: Result ET: Extra Time round sg: Match decided by silver GA: Goals against 2nd: second leg FT: Final tournament goal t: Match decided by toss of a PO: Play-off ELITE: Elite round coin Rep: Replay 3rdPO: Third-place play-off GF: Goals for W: Won PO - FT: Play-off for Final GS-FT: Group stage – final gg: Match decided by golden Y: Booked Tournament tournament goal L: Lost Y/R: Sent off (two yellow Nat.: Nationality cards) N/A: Not applicable f: Match forfeited Statistics -: Denotes player substituted +: Denotes player introduced *: Denotes player sent off +/-: Denotes player introduced and substituted Squad list D: Disciplinary *: Misses next match if booked S: Suspended QUAL: All UEFA qualifiers UEL: Current season total UEFA Europa League appearances from the group stage onwards prior to the current matchday UEL: Total appearances in the UEFA Europa League, group stage to final only UEFA: All-time total appearances in UEFA club competition including qualifying Disclaimer: Although UEFA has taken all reasonable care that the information contained within this document is accurate at the time of publication, no representation or guarantee (including liability towards third parties), expressed or implied, is made as to its accuracy, reliability or completeness. Therefore, UEFA assumes no liability for the use or interpretation of information contained herein. More information can be found in the competition regulations available on UEFA.com. 4.