UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - 2015/16 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS Anfield - Liverpool Thursday 1 October 2015 21.05CET (20.05 local time) Liverpool FC Group B - Matchday 2 FC Sion Last updated 06/10/2015 09:42CET Previous meetings 2 Match background 4 Team facts 5 Squad list 8 Fixtures and results 10 Match-by-match lineups 13 Match officials 14 Legend 15 1 Liverpool FC - FC Sion Thursday 1 October 2015 - 21.05CET (20.05 local time) Match press kit Anfield, Liverpool Previous meetings Head to Head UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers McManaman 27, Bjørnebye 55, Barnes 6-3 31/10/1996 R2 Liverpool FC - FC Sion Liverpool 66, Fowler 70, 79, agg: 8-4 Berger 89; Chassot 20, 65, Bonvin 23 Bonvin 10; Fowler 28, 17/10/1996 R2 FC Sion - Liverpool FC 1-2 Sion Barnes 80 Home Away Final Total Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L GF GA Liverpool FC 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 8 4 FC Sion 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 4 8 Liverpool FC - Record versus clubs from opponents' country UEFA Champions League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 09/12/2014 GS Liverpool FC - FC Basel 1893 1-1 Liverpool Gerrard 81; Frei 25 01/10/2014 GS FC Basel 1893 - Liverpool FC 1-0 Basel Streller 52 UEFA Europa League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers Shelvey 33, J.Cole 22/11/2012 GS Liverpool FC - BSC Young Boys 2-2 Liverpool 72; Bobadilla 52, Zverotić 88 Nuzzolo 38, Ojala 53, Zárate 63; Ojala 4 20/09/2012 GS BSC Young Boys - Liverpool FC 3-5 Berne (og), Wisdom 40, Coates 67, Shelvey 76, 88 UEFA Champions League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers Rossi 2, Giménez 22, Atouba 29; Murphy 12/11/2002 GS1 FC Basel 1893 - Liverpool FC 3-3 Basel 61, Šmicer 64, Owen 85 25/09/2002 GS1 Liverpool FC - FC Basel 1893 1-1 Liverpool Baroš 34; Rossi 43 European Champions Clubs' Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 3-0 Case 32, 76, Keegan 20/04/1977 SF Liverpool FC - FC Zürich Liverpool agg: 6-1 79 Risi 6 (P); Neal 15, 67 06/04/1977 SF FC Zürich - Liverpool FC 1-3 Zurich (P), Heighway 48 2 Liverpool FC - FC Sion Thursday 1 October 2015 - 21.05CET (20.05 local time) Match press kit Anfield, Liverpool UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 2-0 Hughes 27, Heighway 29/09/1971 R1 Liverpool FC - Servette FC Liverpool agg: 3-2 57 Dörfel 25, Barriquand 15/09/1971 R1 Servette FC - Liverpool FC 2-1 Geneva 48; Lawler 80 FC Sion - Record versus clubs from opponents' country FC Sion have not played against a club from their opponents' country Home Away Final Total Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L GF GA Liverpool FC 6 3 3 0 6 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 12 6 4 2 29 18 FC Sion 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 4 8 3 Liverpool FC - FC Sion Thursday 1 October 2015 - 21.05CET (20.05 local time) Match press kit Anfield, Liverpool Match background Liverpool FC picked up a point on matchday one and can seize top spot in UEFA Europa League Group A if they record a second home success against FC Sion. Previous meetings • Roy Evans' Liverpool eliminated Alberto Bigon's Sion in the 1996/97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup second round, winning 2-1 in Switzerland and 6-3 at Anfield. • Sion were the first visiting team to score three times in a European fixture at Anfield; only FC Barcelona (1-3, 2001), Chelsea FC (1-3, 2009), Udinese Calcio (2-3, 2012) and Real Madrid CF (0-3, 2014) have done so since. • The teams for Sion's last visit on 31 October 1996 were: Liverpool: James, Scales (Redknapp 60), McAteer, Babb, McManaman, Fowler, Barnes, Berger, Thomas, Bjørnebye, Matteo. Sion: Lehmann, Gaspoz (Bühlmann 75), Quentin, Wicky, Vercruysse, Bonvin (Vincze 75), Chassot, Sylvestre, Colombo, Lonfat (Zambaz 46), De Sousa. • Those were Sion's only previous games against English opponents. Form guide • Liverpool's 12 matches against Swiss sides have ended W6 D4 L2 (W3 D3 L0 at Anfield – W3 D1 L2 in Switzerland). Their last three home games against Swiss outfits ended in draws, most recently 1-1 against FC Basel 1893 in last season's UEFA Champions League group stage. • Sion are without a win in six European away trips (D3 L3 – including a 3-0 default defeat at Celtic FC) – a run which stretches back to a 1-0 triumph at TPS Turku in the UEFA Intertoto Cup in June 1998. • Liverpool made it through to the knockout phase in both of their previous UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns – 2010/11 and 2012/13. • Sion are featuring in the group stage of a major UEFA competition for the first time. Trivia and links • The journey from Sion to Liverpool is just shy of 1,100km. • Liverpool's Brazilian international Roberto Firmino turns 24 the day after the Sion game. • Sion left-back Reto Ziegler spent several seasons in England with Tottenham Hotspur FC, and also played on loan at Wigan Athletic FC. He appeared in three games against Liverpool: two draws with Spurs and a 1-0 loss with Wigan. He scored in a penalty shoot-out for the north Londoners against the Reds and registered his only league goal for Spurs versus Liverpool's neighbours, Everton FC. • Sion's Montenegrin international defender Elsad Zverotić was also in England with Fulham FC up until the summer. • Sion winger Geoffrey Mujangi Bia played on loan with English sides Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and Watford FC earlier in his career. The coaches • Liverpool manager since 2012, Northern Irishman Brendan Rodgers established his reputation as a youth coach, notably at Chelsea, before successfully striking out alone at Swansea City AFC, where he won promotion to the Premier League in 2011. • A UEFA Cup finalist with FC Girondins de Bordeaux in 1996, French striker Didier Tholot ended his playing career as player-coach at Sion and took charge of the club for a third time in 2014. He led Sion to Swiss Cup success in 2009 in his second spell and won that trophy again last term. • Tholot briefly played lower-league football in England with Walsall FC in 1998. 4 Liverpool FC - FC Sion Thursday 1 October 2015 - 21.05CET (20.05 local time) Match press kit Anfield, Liverpool Team facts Liverpool FC Formed: 1892 Nickname: The Reds UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets) • European Champion Clubs' Cup (5): 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, (1985), 2005, (2007) • UEFA Cup (3): 1973, 1976, 2001 • UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: (1966) • UEFA Super Cup (3): 1977, (1978), (1984), 2001, 2005 Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets) League title: 18 (1990) FA Cup: 7 (2006) League Cup: 8 (2012) Ten-year European record (UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup unless indicated otherwise) 2014/15: UEFA Europa League round of 32 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League group stage) 2013/14: did not take part in UEFA competition 2012/13: round of 32 2011/12: did not take part in UEFA competition 2010/11: round of 16 2009/10: semi-finals (having transferred from UEFA Champions League group stage) 2008/09: UEFA Champions League quarter-finals 2007/08: UEFA Champions League semi-finals 2006/07: UEFA Champions League runners-up 2005/06: UEFA Champions League round of 16 Records UEFA club competition • Biggest home win 11-0: Liverpool v Strømsgodset IF 17/09/74, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup first round first leg • Biggest away win 0-5 three times, most recently v FC Haka 08/08/01, UEFA Champions League third qualifying round first leg • Heaviest home defeat 0-3: Liverpool v Real Madrid CF 22/10/14, UEFA Champions League group stage • Heaviest away defeat 5-1: AFC Ajax v Liverpool 07/12/66, European Champion Clubs' Cup second round first leg UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup • Biggest home win 6-0: Liverpool v Real Sociedad de Fútbol 04/11/75, second round second leg • Biggest away win 3-5: BSC Young Boys v Liverpool 20/09/12, group stage 2-4: PFC Levskia Sofia v Liverpool 03/03/04, third round second leg 1-3 three times, most recently v FC Unirea Urziceni 25/02/10, round of 32 second leg 0-2 twice, most recently v AS Roma 15/02/01, fourth round first leg • Heaviest home defeat 0-2: Liverpool v Celtic FC 23/03/03, quarter-final second leg 5 Liverpool FC - FC Sion Thursday 1 October 2015 - 21.05CET (20.05 local time) Match press kit Anfield, Liverpool • Heaviest away defeat 3-0: RC Strasbourg v Liverpool 21/10/97, second round first leg FC Sion Formed: 1909 Nickname: Les Sédunois (local name for Sion natives) UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets) • None Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets) League title: 2 (1997) Swiss Cup: 13 (2015) Ten-year European record (UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup unless indicated otherwise) 2014/15: did not take part in UEFA club competition 2013/14: did not take part in UEFA club competition 2012/13: did not take part in UEFA club competition 2011/12: play-offs 2010/11: did not take part in UEFA club competition 2009/10: play-offs 2008/09: did not take part in UEFA club competition 2007/08: first round 2006/07: first round 2005/06: did not take part in UEFA club competition Records UEFA club competition • Biggest home win 5-1: Sion v Galatasaray AŞ 15/09/65, European Cup Winners' Cup preliminary round first leg 4-0: Sion v AS Jeunesse Esch 23/07/97, UEFA Champions League first qualifying round first leg • Biggest away win 0-4: FC Vinnytsa v Sion 26/09/96, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup first round second leg • Heaviest home defeat 1-4: Sion v Galatasaray AŞ 13/08/97, UEFA Champions League second qualifying round first leg 1-4: Sion v Aberdeen FC 01/09/82, European Cup Winners' Cup preliminary round second leg 0-3 (forfeit): Sion v Celtic FC 25/08/11, UEFA Europa League play-off second leg • Heaviest away defeat 8-1: 1.