UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - 2015/16 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS Tourbillon - Sion Thursday 10 December 2015 19.00CET (19.00 local time) FC Sion Group B - Matchday 6 Liverpool FC Last updated 08/12/2015 12:18CET Previous meetings 2 Match background 4 Team facts 5 Squad list 8 Fixtures and results 10 Match-by-match lineups 14 Match officials 16 Legend 17 1 FC Sion - Liverpool FC Thursday 10 December 2015 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit Tourbillon, Sion Previous meetings Head to Head UEFA Europa League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 01/10/2015 GS Liverpool FC - FC Sion 1-1 Liverpool Lallana 4; Assifuah 18 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 FC Sion 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 2 5 9 Liverpool FC 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 1 0 9 5 FC Sion - Record versus clubs from opponents' country FC Sion have not played against a club from their opponents' country 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 2 FC Sion - Liverpool FC Thursday 10 December 2015 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit Tourbillon, Sion 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 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 Home Away Final Total Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L GF GA FC Sion 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 2 5 9 Liverpool FC 7 3 4 0 6 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 13 6 5 2 30 19 3 FC Sion - Liverpool FC Thursday 10 December 2015 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit Tourbillon, Sion Match background FC Sion can ill afford a second successive Group B defeat as they look to cling on against Liverpool FC and claim a place in the UEFA Europa League round of 32. • Liverpool are through and will top the group with a draw. • Sion trail Rubin on head-to-head record so still need a point if the Russian club win. Previous meetings • Sion earned a 1-1 draw at Liverpool on matchday two, in what was Brendan Rodgers' final European game in charge of the Reds. • 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. • Those meetings with Liverpool are Sion's only previous matches against English opponents. • Liverpool's 13 outings against Swiss sides have ended W6 D5 L2 (W3 D1 L2 in Switzerland). Form guide • Sion have scored five and conceded five in Group B – averaging one goal a game on both counts. • Liverpool have drawn eight of their 17 UEFA Europa League group stage fixtures to date (W7 D8 L2). • Sion are featuring in the group stage of a major UEFA competition for the first time. • Liverpool advanced to the knockout phase in both previous UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns – 2010/11 and 2012/13 – so have made it three out of three this term. Trivia and links • The journey from Liverpool to Sion is just shy of 1,100km. • Sion left-back Reto Ziegler spent one full season in England with Tottenham Hotspur FC and also played on loan at Wigan Athletic FC. He figured in three matches against Liverpool: two draws with Tottenham and a 1-0 loss with Wigan. He scored in a penalty shoot-out for the north Londoners against the Reds and also 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 last summer. • Sion winger Geoffrey Mujangi Bia played on loan with English sides Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and Watford FC earlier in his career. The coaches • 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 during his second stint and lifted that trophy again last term. • Tholot, now 51, briefly played lower-league football in England with Walsall FC in 1998. • Liverpool manager since 2012, Brendan Rodgers was sacked on 4 October after an uninspiring run of results. • Rodgers' replacement is former Borussia Dortmund boss Jürgen Klopp. The 48-year-old enjoyed an immensely successful spell at the Westfalenstadion, winning the Bundesliga in 2010/11, completing the double the next season and narrowly missing out against FC Bayern München in the 2013 UEFA Champions League final. 4 FC Sion - Liverpool FC Thursday 10 December 2015 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit Tourbillon, Sion Team facts 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. FC Magdeburg v Sion 17/11/65, European Cup Winners' Cup first round second leg 7-0: Aberdeen FC v Sion 18/08/82, European Cup Winners' Cup preliminary round first leg UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup • Biggest home win 3-0: Sion v FK Velež 30/09/87, first round second leg • Biggest away win 1-3: Apollon Limassol FC v Sion 13/09/94, UEFA Cup first round first leg • Heaviest home defeat 0-3 (forfeit): Sion v Celtic FC (see above) • Heaviest away defeat 5-0: FK Velež v Sion 5 FC Sion - Liverpool FC Thursday 10 December 2015 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit Tourbillon, Sion 16/09/87, first round first leg 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