UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - 2015/16 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS St. Jakob-Park - Basel Thursday 26 November 2015 19.00CET (19.00 local time) FC Basel 1893 Group I - Matchday 5 ACF Fiorentina Last updated 23/11/2015 19:34CET Match background 2 Legend 4 1 FC Basel 1893 - ACF Fiorentina Thursday 26 November 2015 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit St. Jakob-Park, Basel Match background FC Basel 1893 got the better of their old coach Paulo Sousa when they beat ACF Fiorentina in Italy on matchday one and they will seal a place in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 with a repeat performance. • Basel will qualify from Group I with a win, or if Os Belenenses and KKS Lech Poznań draw in the section's other game. • Fiorentina and Basel would qualify together if a Viola victory coincides with a draw in Lisbon. Previous meetings • Basel came from behind to triumph 2-1 when the sides met for the first time on 17 September. • Basel's statistics from ten games against Italian clubs are W4 D1 L5 (W2 D1 L1 at home). • Fiorentina's nine games against Swiss opponents have ended W5 D1 L3 (W3 D1 L0 in Switzerland). Form guide • Basel have lost only one of their eight European games this season – 2-1 at home against Belenenses on matchday three. • Fiorentina have won both of their European away fixtures this term, scoring six goals in the process and conceding none. They have yet to lose in ten UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage away games (W7 D3). • Basel have previously featured in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage six times – they have progressed to the knockout phase on four occasions and been eliminated twice. • Fiorentina made it to last season's UEFA Europa League semi-finals, losing to eventual winners Sevilla FC. • Fiorentina have advanced to the round of 32 in all three of their UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns. Trivia and links • The 2016 UEFA Europa League final will be played at Basel's St. Jakob-Park on 18 May. • The journey from Florence to Basel to just over 500km, meaning the Viola are facing the shortest journey of any of the sides on matchday five. • Fiorentina striker Giuseppe Rossi's next UEFA club competition appearance will be his 50th – his 49 European games have yielded 24 goals. • Marc Janko's penalty in Basel's 2-0 win at Belenenses on matchday four made him the first player to score in the UEFA Europa League for four clubs. He had previously found the net four times each for FC Salzburg and FC Twente and once for Trabzonspor AŞ. • Basel's Breel Embolo and Fenerbahçe SK's Nani were fouled 15 times in the first four matchdays – more than any other players in the competition. • Basel's Philipp Degen and Fiorentina's Jakub Błaszczykowski were team-mates at Borussia Dortmund in 2007/08. • Basel defender Walter Samuel gained extensive Serie A experience with AS Roma (2000–04) and FC Internazionale Milano (2005–14). • Basel midfielder Birkir Bjarnason played in Italy with Pescara Calcio (2012–13, 2014/15) and UC Sampdoria (2013/14). • Fiorentina striker Nikola Kalinić was a losing UEFA Europa League finalist with FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk last season. • Basel are one of ten sides in the group stage who qualified for Europe this season as domestic champions, along with KF Skenderbëu (Albania), Qarabağ FK (Albania), APOEL FC (Cyprus), FC Viktoria Plzeň (Czech Republic), FC Midtjylland (Denmark), KKS Lech Poznań (Poland), FK Partizan (Serbia), Molde FK (Norway) and Celtic FC (Scotland). The coaches • Urs Fischer took charge of Basel this summer following Sousa's move to Fiorentina. The one-time FC Zürich defender led Zürich (2011/12) and FC Thun (2013/14) into the UEFA Europa League group stage, though neither side made it to the knockout phase. • A European champion as a player with Juventus (1996) and Dortmund (1997), former Portugal midfielder Sousa joined Fiorentina in June and is on the hunt for a third league title in as many seasons, having won the 2013/14 Israeli crown with Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC and last season's Swiss Super League with Basel. 2 FC Basel 1893 - ACF Fiorentina Thursday 26 November 2015 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit St. Jakob-Park, Basel 3 FC Basel 1893 - ACF Fiorentina Thursday 26 November 2015 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit St. Jakob-Park, Basel 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.