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Champions League Matchday 4: What the stats say

football24 November 2020 08:13
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Here are all the interesting stats ahead of the Uefa Champions League matchday four…

Rennes v Chelsea
24 November 2020

The first European encounter between Rennes and Chelsea was on MD3 of this season’s UEFA Champions League, with the Blues winning 3-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Rennes have hosted English teams twice previously in European competition and won both games, beating Aston Villa in July 2001 in the Intertoto Cup and Arsenal in March 2019 in the UEFA Europa League.

Chelsea have won just two of their nine away UEFA Champions League matches in France (D2 L5), though won on their last visit there last season, beating Lille 2-1 in the group stage.

Rennes are yet to win in any of their three UEFA Champions League matches so far (D1 L2) and are only the second French side to fail to win any of their first three games in the competition, after Montpellier (winless in first six).

Chelsea are looking to win three consecutive UEFA Champions League matches for the first time since December 2015, while they haven’t won three in a row without conceding since November 2013.

Rennes have lost seven of their last 10 matches in the UEFA Europa League/Champions League (W1 D2), although only one of those defeats was in a home match, losing 1-0 against CFR Cluj in October 2019 in the Europa League.

Only Marseille (0 goals from 19 shots) have a worse shot conversion rate than Rennes (1 goal from 29 shots, 3.5%) in the UEFA Champions League this season. None of Rennes’ players have attempted more than four shots so far (Serhou Guirassy the most, 4).

Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham is looking to become the first Blues player to score in four consecutive UEFA Champions League starts since Nicolas Anelka in February 2011 (five in a row).

Rennes have used five teenagers in the UEFA Champions League this season, two more than any other club (Camavinga, Doku, Truffert, Soppy, Gboho). They have given at least one teenage debut in each game, with only Bayer Leverkusen between February and October 2014 giving a teenager a debut in four consecutive matches.

All three of Timo Werner’s UEFA Champions League goals for Chelsea have been penalties – indeed, the German’s last five goals in the competition have been from the penalty spot, the joint-longest run of consecutive goals as penalties by a player along with former Sparta Prague defender Vladimir Labant (five in a row between 1999 and 2001).

FC Krasnodar v Sevilla
24 November 2020

Krasnodar have only hosted Sevilla in a European match once previously, winning 2-1 in a UEFA Europa League match in October 2018.

In their only previous UEFA Champions League meeting on MD3 this season, Sevilla came from two goals down to win 3-2 at Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán.

On MD3 against Krasnodar, Sevilla became only the third team in UEFA Champions League history to win a match after having a man sent off when they were losing, after Hamburg against CSKA Moscow in December 2006 and Man City against Schalke 04 in February 2019.

Krasnodar are the sixth of the seven Russian teams to participate in the UEFA Champions League to fail to win in their opening three games in the competition – the only exception was Rubin Kazan, who won one of their first three games in 2009/10.

Sevilla have won just one of their last 11 away UEFA Champions League group stage matches (D5 L5), winning 1-0 at Dinamo Zagreb in October 2016.

Krasnodar have lost their last two UEFA Champions League matches – the Russian side have never lost three consecutively in UEFA European competition.

Sevilla manager Julen Lopetegui has only lost four of his 22 UEFA Champions League matches (W13 D5), though his last defeat in the competition was away in Russia, losing with Real Madrid at CSKA Moscow in October 2018.

Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri has scored four goals in nine UEFA Europa League/Champions League matches for the club, averaging a goal every 78 minutes and netting a brace against Krasnodar on MD3 as a substitute.

Only Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (15) has made more ball carries with a take-on than Sevilla’s Lucas Ocampos (13) in the UEFA Champions League this season.

FK Krasnodar forward Marcus Berg scored his first ever UEFA Champions League goal aged 34 years and 79 days against Sevilla, the oldest age for a first-time scorer in the competition since fellow Swedish international Olof Mellberg scored for FC København against Juventus in 2013 aged 36 years and 85 days.

Lazio v Zenit St Petersburg
24 November 2020

The only previous European meeting between Lazio and Zenit was on MD3 this season, a 1-1 draw.

Lazio have never lost against Russian opponents in major UEFA European competition, although four of those have ended as draws (W1).

Zenit’s last away match in Italy in the UEFA Champions League was a 1-0 win at AC Milan in December 2012 – it is Zenit’s only away win in Italy in European competition (P5 W1 D1 L3).

The last Russian side to play away from home against Lazio were Lokomotiv Moscow in the 1998/99 Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final, drawing 0-0. Before Lokomotiv, the only other Russian side to face Lazio away from home were Rotor Volgograd in the 1997/98 UEFA Cup, losing 3-0.

Lazio have avoided defeat in their opening three UEFA Champions League group stage matches (W1 D2) for the first time since 1999/00 first group stage, when they went on to top the group unbeaten.

Including qualifiers, Zenit are winless in 13 away European matches (D3 L10) since their last win on their travels, a 3-1 victory at Real Sociedad in December 2017 in the UEFA Europa League.

Lazio are looking to win back to back home UEFA Champions League matches for the first since October 2001, when they beat PSV and Galatasaray with current boss Simone Inzaghi featuring in both games.

Russian teams have lost 69% of their UEFA Champions League games against Italian opposition (P29 W3 D6 L20), with Russian sides only losing higher percentages of their games against German sides (71%) of nations in which they’ve faced their teams at least five times.

Lazio striker Felipe Caicedo ended a run of 11 UEFA Champions League/Europa League matches without a goal with the equaliser against Zenit – he hasn’t scored in two appearances in a row since October 2017, netting against Zulte Waregem and Nice in the Europa League.

Artem Dzyuba has been directly involved in 12 goals in 15 UEFA Champions League group stage appearances for Zenit (8 goals, 4 assists), assisting Aleksandr Erokhin’s goal against Lazio on MD3.

Borussia Dortmund v Club Brugge
24 November 2020

Borussia Dortmund are unbeaten in all three of their UEFA Champions League matches against Club Brugge (W2 D1), keeping three clean sheets.

Club Brugge have never won an away European match against Borussia Dortmund (including qualifers), drawing one and losing two. Their most recent game there was a goalless draw in the UEFA Champions League in November 2018.

Borussia Dortmund have won none of their last three home European matches (including qualifiers) against Belgian opponents (D2 L1) since a 2-1 win over Club Brugge in August 2003 in a UEFA Champions League qualifier.

Club Brugge are looking to win consecutive away matches in the European Cup/Champions League for the first time, having won 2-1 at Zenit on MD1.

Borussia Dortmund have won their last four home UEFA Champions League matches, their best run since a seven-game stretch between September 2012 and October 2013.

Club Brugge have won just two of their last 23 UEFA Champions League matches (D8 L13), though both wins have come away from home in that run.

Lucien Favre will become the second manager to take charge of 20 UEFA Champions League matches with Borussia Dortmund, after Jürgen Klopp (37). Favre’s win ratio of 53% (P19 W10 D2 L7) is the third-best for Dortmund in the competition, behind Nevio Scala (60%) and Ottmar Hitzfeld (58%).

Since the start of last season, Erling Haaland has scored 12 goals in nine UEFA Champions League group stage matches – five more than Club Brugge have managed as a team (7).

Erling Haaland was the joint-fastest player to score five UEFA Champions goals (three games, level with Didier Drogba), the fastest to score 10 goals (seven games) and will be the quickest to 15 goals if he scores in this game – his 12th appearance – with the record held by Ruud van Nistelrooy and Roberto Soldado (19 games).

Club Brugge goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has kept just one clean sheet in his first 14 UEFA Champions League starts – should he concede in this match, he will equal the record for fewest clean sheets in a goalkeeper’s first 15 starts in the competition, held by former Basel and Olympiakos goalkeeper Franco Costanzo (one between 2008 and 2011).

Dynamo Kiev v FC Barcelona
24 November 2020

This will be the eighth meeting between Dynamo Kiev and Barcelona in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League, with Kiev winning two and Barcelona five of the first seven.

Barcelona’s last away UEFA Champions League match against Dynamo Kiev was back in December 2009, winning 2-1 with goals from Xavi and Lionel Messi.

Barcelona have won their last three away UEFA Champions League matches in Ukraine, beating Shakhtar Donetsk (2008 and 2011) and Dynamo Kiev (2009), with current Kiev manager Mircea Lucescu in charge of Donetsk for both of those defeats.

Dynamo Kiev have won just one of their last 11 UEFA Champions League matches (D4 L6), winning none of their three this season while conceding exactly twice in each match (D1 L2).

Barcelona have won their opening three group stage games in the UEFA Champions League for the fourth time in the last five seasons. They have only ever won their first four games once previously, doing so in 2002/03 when they reached the quarter-final.

Dynamo Kiev manager Mircea Lucescu has lost six UEFA Champions League matches against Barcelona, with only Arsène Wenger against Barcelona (eight defeats) and Bayern Munich (seven) losing more matches versus a single opponent in the competition’s history.

Barcelona have lost just one of their last 37 UEFA Champions League group stage matches (W28 D8) and have won their last five in a row, their best run since winning eight in a row between September 2011 and October 2012.

Dynamo Kiev’s Viktor Tsygankov is looking to become the first Ukrainian player to score in three consecutive UEFA Champions League appearances since Andriy Shevchenko in April 2005, while the last player to score home and away against Barcelona in a group stage campaign was Didier Drogba in 2006/07 for Chelsea.

Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann has scored in just one of his last last 14 away appearances in the UEFA Champions League (v Napoli in February) – indeed, just 26% of his goals in the competition have been scored when playing away from home (6/23).

Although he is yet to score a UEFA Champions League goal in nine attempts in open play for Barcelona this season, Lionel Messi has scored a penalty in all three group stage matches. He is the first Barcelona player to score a penalty in three consecutive appearances since Ronaldinho in 2005, and could be the first player ever score a penalty in four consecutive appearances in the Champions League.

Juventus v Ferencváros
24 November 2020

Juventus have won one of their previous two meetings with Ferencváros across all European competitions (W1 L1), with their victory coming earlier this month in the UEFA Champions League group stage (4-1 away from home).

This will be Ferencváros’ first away game against Italian opponents in any European competition since May 1968, when they drew 2-2 with Bologna in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

Juventus are unbeaten in their previous three games against Hungarian sides in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League (W1 D2), while this will be the first time they have hosted such opposition since March 1973 (0-0 v Újpest in the quarter-final first leg, later progressing on away goals).

Ferencváros are looking for their first win against Italian opposition in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League (D1 L2), while they’ve conceded four goals in each of the two defeats in this run (0-4 v Inter Milan in 1966 and 1-4 v Juventus this season).

Juventus were beaten by Barcelona in their most recent home game in the UEFA Champions League, while they haven’t gone consecutive group stage games without a win there since November 2016 (0-0 v Sevilla and 1-1 v Lyon).

Ferencváros are looking for their first victory in the UEFA Champions League since September 1995 (3-0 v Grasshopper Club Zürich), having failed to win any of their previous eight games in the competition (D3 L5).

Juventus won 4-1 away from home in their previous meeting against Ferencváros, and would need to score five in this game to equal their most goals against the same opponent in a UEFA Champions League campaign (nine versus Olympiakos in 2003-04).

Cristiano Ronaldo is the top scorer in UEFA Champions League history with 130 goals – 69 of these have been scored in home games, while only Lionel Messi (70) has netted more in the competition in home appearances.

Franck Boli has netted in each of his last two games in the UEFA Champions League for Ferencváros (two goals) – no player has ever scored in three consecutive appearances for the club in the competition.

Álvaro Morata has scored four goals in three UEFA Champions League games for Juventus this season, as many as he had in his previous 17 appearances in the competition between spells at Chelsea and Atlético Madrid (four).

Paris Saint-Germain v RB Leipzig
24 November 2020

This will be the third meeting between Paris SG and RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League in the last 98 days – both teams have won a game each across the previous two, with RB Leipzig winning the most recent clash (2-1 earlier this month).

RB Leipzig’s previous three away games against French opponents in European competition have seen a total of 16 goals scored (eight for, eight against), at an average of 5.3 per game. Paris SG will be the fourth different opponent in this run, with the previous three coming against Monaco, Marseille and Lyon.

Paris SG have lost four of their last six games against German opponents in the UEFA Champions League (W2), including each of the last two – 0-1 v Bayern Munich and 1-2 v RB Leipzig.

RB Leipzig lost their previous away game in the UEFA Champions League this season (0-5 v Manchester United), after going unbeaten in their previous five away games in the competition (W4 D1).

After losing at home to Manchester United in their most recent home game in the UEFA Champions League, Paris SG will be looking to avoid consecutive home defeats in the competition for the very first time.

RB Leipzig have only lost one of their last seven group stage games in the UEFA Champions League (W4 D2), scoring two goals in each of the six games they avoided defeat in this run.

Paris SG midfielder Ángel Di María has been directly involved in four goals in two previous UEFA Champions League games against RB Leipzig (two goals and two assists).

Since the start of last season, Marcel Sabitzer has been directly involved in more goals in the UEFA Champions League than any other RB Leipzig player (7 – four goals and three assists).

Paris SG’s Kylian Mbappé is still looking for his first UEFA Champions League goal in 2020. Since scoring against Galatasaray in December 2019, the Frenchman has made seven appearances and played 529 minutes in the competition without scoring.

Emil Forsberg has netted four goals in his last five UEFA Champions League starts for RB Leipzig, after scoring only two in his first 14 starts in the competition.

Manchester United v Istanbul Basaksehir
24 November 2020

Manchester United have lost three of their last four games against Turkish opponents in European competition (W1), including each of the last two in a row.

Istanbul Basaksehir’s only previous away game against an English team in European competition came in August 2018, when they lost 0-1 against Burnley in a UEFA Europa League qualifier.

At Old Trafford, Manchester United have won their last three games against Turkish opposition across the UEFA Champions League and Europa League – their last such defeat at home came back in November 2009, losing 0-1 against Besiktas in the Champions League.

Istanbul Basaksehir’s previous three games against English sides in European competition have seen them lose once, draw once and win once, with their only victory coming in this season’s reverse fixture against Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League.

Manchester United have won their last six home games in European competition by an aggregate score of 20-1, while the only game in this run that came in the UEFA Champions League was their 5-0 win over RB Leipzig this season.

Istanbul Basaksehir have lost their last three away games in European competition, failing to score a goal in each of the last two – 0-3 v FC København in August and 0-2 v RB Leipzig in October.

Anthony Martial is looking to become the first Manchester United player to score in three consecutive UEFA Champions League appearances since Wayne Rooney in March 2010.

Istanbul Basaksehir striker Demba Ba has made four previous appearances at Old Trafford in all competitions, scoring one goal in a 1-1 draw while playing for Newcastle United in November 2011.

Five of Marcus Rashford’s nine goals for Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League have been scored after coming off the bench – indeed, the only player to score more goals for the club in the competition as a substitute is current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (7).

Demba Ba and Edin Visca scored the two goals for Istanbul Basaksehir in their previous win against Manchester United, while the last player to score home and away against Manchester United in the group stage of a UEFA Champions League campaign was Braga’s Alan in 2012-13.

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