The top two in UEFA Europa League Group G meet on matchday five, with KRC Genk eager to secure top spot in the section after beating FC Dynamo Kyiv 1-0 in Ukraine in their first encounter.
• Both teams would confirm their place in the round of 32 with a victory on matchday five, while a win would also guarantee Genk first place in the group – a major fillip, since seeded sides get to play the second legs of their round of 32 ties at home.
Previous meetings
• A sublime finish from substitute Julien Gorius secured a shock 1-0 win for Genk on matchday one as the two clubs met for the first time. It was Genk's maiden encounter with Ukrainian opponents.
• Dynamo's seven games against Belgian clubs have ended W3 D0 L4 (W2 D0 L2 at home – W1 D0 L2 in Belgium). Their matchday one meeting with Genk was low-scoring by comparison with their six previous matches against Belgian sides: the winning team in those six encounters scored at least three goals, with 26 produced in total at an average of more than four per game.
Match background
• Last season, Genk made it through to the round of 32 unbeaten on what was their UEFA Europa League group stage debut, topping their section with three wins and three draws.
• They are on target to go through the group stage unbeaten again, having not lost in six European matches this season (W4 D2).
• Genk are the only club to have kept a clean sheet against Dynamo in Europe this season; the Ukrainian side have averaged three goals a game in their other five European fixtures.
• This is Dynamo's third UEFA Europa League group stage campaign; they made it all the way to the quarter-finals in 2010/11 but failed to reach the last 32 the following season.
Team facts
• Genk's Fabien Camus and FC Rubin Kazan's Bebras Natcho laid on four assists over the first four matchdays, more than any other players in this season's competition.
• Dynamo's Andriy Yarmolenko had ten efforts on target during the first four matchdays – more than any other player in the competition. He made his 50th appearance in UEFA club competition on matchday four, marking the occasion with his eighth continental club goal.
• Dynamo's Congolese striker Dieumerci Mbokani, suspended for this game, has extensive experience of Belgian football; he spent two spells with RSC Anderlecht (2006-07 and 2011-13) either side of representing R. Standard de Liège (2007-10). Genk goalkeeper Kristof Van Hout was among his Standard team-mates (2009-10).
• Dynamo's Croatian midfielder Ognen Vukojević also played in Belgium, with K. Lierse SK in 2005.
Coach information
• Hired in August 2011, Dutchman Mario Been won his first trophy as Genk coach when he guided his side to the 2012/13 Belgian Cup. An attacking midfielder, 'Mariodona' played for home-town club Feyenoord, Pisa Calcio, Roda JC, sc Heerenveen, FC Tirol Innsbruck and another Rotterdam side, SBV Excelsior. He subsequently coached both Excelsior and Feyenoord either side of leading NEC Nijmegen through the 2008/09 UEFA Cup group stage.
• Oleh Blokhin has been coaching the club he graced as a player, Dynamo, since September 2012, stepping down as Ukraine coach for a second time after leading them out as co-hosts at UEFA EURO 2012. The European Footballer of the Year in 1975, Blokhin won eight Soviet titles and two European Cup Winners' Cups in a glorious spell at Dynamo from 1969 to 1988. He started coaching in Greece but returned home to help Ukraine reach the 2006 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals.
