UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - 2020/21 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS Stadion U Nisy - Liberec Thursday 22 October 2020 21.00CET (21.00 local time) FC Slovan Liberec Group L - Matchday 1 KAA Gent Last updated 11/12/2020 15:04CET Previous meetings 2 Match background 3 Team facts 4 Squad list 6 Fixtures and results 8 Match-by-match lineups 11 Match officials 13 Legend 14 1 FC Slovan Liberec - KAA Gent Thursday 22 October 2020 - 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Match press kit Stadion U Nisy, Liberec Previous meetings Head to Head No UEFA competition matches have been played between these two teams FC Slovan Liberec - Record versus clubs from opponents' country FC Slovan Liberec have not played against a club from their opponents' country KAA Gent - Record versus clubs from opponents' country UEFA Intertoto Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 0-0 10/07/2005 R2 FC Zlín - KAA Gent Zlin agg: 0-1 02/07/2005 R2 KAA Gent - FC Zlín 1-0 Ghent Martens 50 Home Away Final Total Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L GF GA FC Slovan Liberec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 KAA Gent 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 1 0 2 FC Slovan Liberec - KAA Gent Thursday 22 October 2020 - 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Match press kit Stadion U Nisy, Liberec Match background Slovan Liberec's reward for coming through three UEFA Europa League qualifiers is a place in the group stage and a first ever game against a team from Belgium as they kick off their Group L campaign with a home fixture against Gent. Previous meetings • While Liberec are new to Belgian opposition, Gent's sole previous encounters with a Czech side came against Zlín in the 2005 UEFA Intertoto Cup second round, where a 1-0 aggregate win (1-0 h, 0-0 a) took them through. Form guide Liberec • Liberec finished fifth in last season's Czech Liga and also reached the cup final, which they lost 2-1 to Sparta Praha. The league placing earned the club a return to UEFA competition after a three-season absence. • Having kicked off their 2020/21 UEFA Europa League campaign with away wins at Riteriai (5-1) and FCSB (2-0), the Czech side secured a fourth appearance in the competition's group stage by overcoming APOEL 1-0 at home in the play-offs. Liberec came through their group at the first attempt in 2013/14, finishing second behind eventual winners Sevilla before losing in the round of 32 to AZ Alkmaar, but failed to make further progress in both 2015/16 (third place) and 2016/17 (fourth). • Liberec have lost six of their ten home games in the UEFA Europa League proper, winning only two – against Estoril in 2013/14 (2-1) and Qarabağ in 2016/17 (3-0). Gent • Runners-up in the abbreviated 2019/20 Belgian First Division A behind Club Brugge, Gent also reached the UEFA Europa League round of 32, where they went out to Roma (0-1 a, 1-1 h) having come through three qualifying rounds before finishing top of a section including Wolfsburg, St-Étienne and Olexandriya. • Gent are competing in Europe for the sixth successive season, extending the longest sequence in the club's history. They entered the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League under new coach Wim De Decker in the third qualifying round, where they overcame Rapid Wien 2-1 at home, but were then beaten home and away by Dynamo Kyiv in the play-offs (1-2 h, 0-3 a), which booked them a fourth participation in the UEFA Europa League group stage. They have reached the knockout phase twice, in 2016/17 and last season, having missed the cut on their first appearance in 2010/11. • Gent have won just one of their last nine European away matches (D4 L4) and only two of the nine they have played in the UEFA Europa League group stage (D3 L4), most recently 3-1 at Wolfsburg on Matchday 4 last season. Links and trivia • Gent's Cameroon international defender Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui was a Slavia Praha player from 2016 to 2019, winning two league titles and two Czech Cups. He played in six league games against Liberec and never lost (W2 D4). • Liberec coach Pavel Hoftych was on the Zlín coaching staff when they lost to Gent in the 2005 UEFA Intertoto Cup. • Gent's Roman Yaremchuk and Liberec's Taras Kacharaba played together for various Ukrainian national youth teams. 3 FC Slovan Liberec - KAA Gent Thursday 22 October 2020 - 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Match press kit Stadion U Nisy, Liberec Team facts FC Slovan Liberec Formed: 1958 Nickname: Modrobílí (Blue and Whites) UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets) • UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2004 Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets) League title: 3 (2012) Czech Cup: 2 (2015) Ten-year European record (UEFA Europa League unless indicated otherwise) 2019/20: did not take part in UEFA competition 2018/19: did not take part in UEFA competition 2017/18: did not take part in UEFA competition 2016/17: group stage 2015/16: group stage 2014/15: third qualifying round 2013/14: round of 32 2012/13: play-offs (having transferred from UEFA Champions League third qualifying round) 2011/12: did not take part in UEFA competition 2010/11: did not take part in UEFA competition Records UEFA club competition • Biggest home win 5-0: Liberec v Dubnica 10/07/04, UEFA Intertoto Cup second round second leg • Biggest away win 1-5: Riteriai v Liberec 17/09/20, UEFA Europa League second qualifying round • Heaviest home defeat 0-3: Liberec v Dinamo Bucureşti 27/08/09, UEFA Europa League play-off second leg • Heaviest away defeat 4-0: twice, most recently v Braga 02/11/06, UEFA Cup group stage UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League • Biggest home win 4-1 twice, most recently v Grasshoppers 23/11/06, group stage 3-0 three times, most recently v Qarabağ 24/11/16, group stage • Biggest away win 1-5: Riteriai v Liberec (see above) • Heaviest home defeat 0-3: Liberec v Dinamo Bucureşti (see above) • Heaviest away defeat 4-0: twice, most recently v Braga (see above) KAA Gent Formed: 1864 Nickname: De Buffalos (The Buffalos) UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets) • UEFA Intertoto Cup: (2006), (2007) Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets) 4 FC Slovan Liberec - KAA Gent Thursday 22 October 2020 - 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Match press kit Stadion U Nisy, Liberec League titles: 1 (2015) Belgian Cup: 3 (2010) Ten-year European record (UEFA Europa League unless indicated otherwise) 2019/20: round of 32 2018/19: play-offs 2017/18: third qualifying round 2016/17: round of 16 2015/16: UEFA Champions League round of 16 2014/15: did not take part in UEFA competition 2013/14: did not take part in UEFA competition 2012/13: third qualifying round 2011/12: did not take part in UEFA competition 2010/11: group stage (having transferred from UEFA Champions League third qualifying round) Records UEFA club competition • Biggest home win 5-0: Gent v Viitorul Constanța 28/07/16, UEFA Europa League third qualifying round first leg • Biggest away win 0-4 twice, most recently v Shkëndija 25/08/16, play-off second leg • Heaviest home defeat 1-7: Gent v Roma 06/08/09, UEFA Europa League third qualifying round second leg 0-6: Gent v Ajax 12/09/00, UEFA Cup first round first leg • Heaviest away defeat 7-1: Paris Saint-Germain v Gent 01/08/01, UEFA Intertoto Cup semi-final second leg UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League • Biggest home win 5-0: Gent v Viitorul Constanța (see above) • Biggest away win 0-4: Shkëndija v Gent (see above) • Heaviest home defeat 1-7: Gent v Roma (see above) 0-6: Gent v Ajax (see above) • Heaviest away defeat 5-0: Shakhtar Donetsk v Gent 20/10/16, group stage 5 FC Slovan Liberec - KAA Gent Thursday 22 October 2020 - 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Match press kit Stadion U Nisy, Liberec Squad list FC Slovan Liberec Current season All-time QUAL UEL League UEL UEFA No. Player Nat. DoB Age D Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Goalkeepers 1 Filip Nguyen CZE 14/09/1992 28 - 3 - - - 6 - - - 3 - 31 Lukáš Hasalík CZE 20/06/2001 19 - - - - - - - - - - - 34 Milan Knobloch CZE 23/08/1992 28 - - - - - - - - - - - Defenders 2 Jakub Jugas CZE 05/05/1992 28 - - - - - 1 - 6 - 12 - 3 Jan Mikula CZE 05/01/1992 28 - 3 - - - 5 - - - 8 - 18 Martin Koscelník SVK 02/03/1995 25 - 3 - - - 5 - - - 3 - 24 Michal Fukala CZE 22/10/2000 20 - - - - - 6 - - - - - 29 Mohamed Tijani CIV 10/07/1997 23 - 3 - - - 5 - - - 3 - 30 Taras Kacharaba UKR 07/01/1995 25 - 3 - - - 5 - - - 3 - 37 Matěj Chaluš CZE 02/02/1998 22 - 2 - - - 4 - - - 2 - Midfielders 5 Jan Šulc CZE 02/06/1998 22 - - - - - 1 - - - - - 6 Michal Sadílek CZE 31/05/1999 21 - - - - - - - 5 - 11 - 8 Jhon Mosquera COL 08/05/1990 30 - 3 - - - 6 4 - - 3 - 9 Aleš Nešický CZE 01/06/1992 28 - - - - - 1 - - - - - 10 Jakub Pešek CZE 24/06/1993 27 - 3 - - - 5 - - - 3 - 15 David Cancola AUT 23/10/1996 23 - - - - - 2 - - - 1 - 22 Michal Beran CZE 22/08/2000 20 - 3 - - - 5 - - - 3 - 23 Kamso Mara GUI 24/12/1994 25 - 3 2 - - 6 - - - 3 2 25 Jakub Hromada SVK 25/05/1996 24 - 3 1 - - 5 1 8 - 13 1 27 Jakub Barac CZE 04/08/1996 24 - - - - - 3 - - - - - Forwards 7 Michael Rabušic CZE 17/09/1989 31 - 3 2 - - 6 4 11 3 24 7 11 Jan Matoušek CZE 09/05/1998 22 - 3 1 - - 6 - 4 1 9 2 16 Lukáš Csáno SVK 11/07/2001 19 - - - - - 2 - - - - - 19 Imad Rondić BIH 16/02/1999 21 - - - - - 3 - - - - - 21 Abdulla Yusuf Helal BHR 12/06/1993 27 - 3 2 - - 4 1 - - 6 2 Coach - Pavel Hoftych CZE 09/05/1967 53 - 3 - - - - - - - 18 - 6 FC Slovan Liberec - KAA Gent Thursday 22 October 2020 - 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Match press kit Stadion U Nisy, Liberec KAA Gent Current season All-time UCL UEL League UEL UEFA No.