UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - 2018/19 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS Akhisar Stadyumu - Manisa Thursday 20 September 2018 18.55CET (19.55 local time) Akhisar Belediyespor Group J - Matchday 1 FC Krasnodar Last updated 19/09/2018 20:36CET Match background 2 Legend 3 1 Akhisar Belediyespor - FC Krasnodar Thursday 20 September 2018 - 18.55CET (19.55 local time) Match press kit Akhisar Stadyumu, Manisa Match background History beckons for Akhisar as the surprise 2017/18 Turkish Cup winners make their debut in European competition on matchday one of the 2018/19 UEFA Europa League, with Russian side Krasnodar their first opponents. Previous meetings • Krasnodar's only previous experience of Turkish opposition is a positive one as they overcame Fenerbahçe 2-1 on aggregate (1-0 home, 1-1 away) in the 2016/17 UEFA Europa League round of 32, the club's first win in a knockout phase encounter. Swedish international Viktor Claesson scored the first-leg winner with his first touch for Krasnodar on his club debut. Form guide Akhisar • Akhisar qualified for their first European campaign – and an automatic place in the UEFA Europa League group stage – with a shock 3-2 win over Fenerbahçe in the 2018 Turkish Cup final. They finished 11th in the league – nine places and 30 points behind their illustrious Istanbul opponents. Krasnodar • Krasnodar are relatively new to European football themselves, but since making their debut in the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League they have qualified for the competition every season since, only failing to make the group stage in 2017/18, when they lost a play-off to Crvena zvezda on away goals. Fourth place in last season's Russian Premier League secured their group stage berth this term. • Krasnodar were unable to progress from their group at the first attempt, in 2014/15, but succeeded in both of the following two seasons, lasting until the round of 32 in 2015/16 and the round of 16 in 2016/17 thanks to that landmark victory over Fenerbahçe. • The Russian club have won one of their three away fixtures in each of their UEFA Europa League group campaigns – against Everton (1-0) in 2014/15, Gabala (3-0) in 2015/16 and Salzburg (1-0) in 2016/17. Their overall away record in the competition, excluding qualifying, is W3 D3 L6. Links and trivia • Akhisar's Yevhen Seleznyov and Charles Kaboré of Krasnodar have both played for Krasnodar's city rivals Kuban. • Akhisar goalkeeper Milan Lukač and Krasnodar defender Uroš Spajić are fellow Serbian internationals. • The Turkish club are one of five making their debut this season in the UEFA Europa League proper, along with Dudelange, Jablonec, Sarpsborg and Spartak Trnava. The coaches • Akhisar parted company with coach Safet Sušić at the start of this week; he had been appointed in the summer, replacing Turkish Cup-winning boss Okan Buruk. • An FC Krasnodar man through and through, Murad Musaev made waves by leading the club's Under-19s to the knockout phase of the 2017/18 UEFA Youth League, where they were only eliminated on penalties by Real Madrid in front of a competition record crowd. That achievement helped him land the position of caretaker coach to the senior side following Igor Shalimov's dismissal in early April 2018. His position as the club's new head coach was subsequently confirmed during the summer. 2 Akhisar Belediyespor - FC Krasnodar Thursday 20 September 2018 - 18.55CET (19.55 local time) Match press kit Akhisar Stadyumu, Manisa 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. 3.