Newcomers KAA Gent are bidding to prolong their first UEFA Champions League campaign by clinching qualification to the knockout stage.
• The Belgian title holders go into their matchday six fixture against Group H winners FC Zenit in second place and will progress with a victory – or if third-placed Valencia CF fail to beat Olympique Lyonnais in the group’s other fixture.
• Yet to drop a point, Zenit have already secured qualification as group winners and with another victory would become only the sixth club to achieve a 100% winning record in a UEFA Champions League group stage.
• Zenit’s Belgian international defender Nicolas Lombaerts began his career with Gent.
Match background
Zenit
• Zenit are looking for a sixth straight win to emulate the feat of AC Milan (1992/93), Paris Saint-Germain FC (1994/95), FC Spartak Moskva (1995/96), FC Barcelona (2002/03) and Real Madrid CF (2011/12, 2014/15).
• They will win the group by a competition record-equalling 11-point margin if they beat Gent and Valencia fail to win against Lyon.
• Zenit last visited Belgium for a 1-0 play-off victory at R. Standard de Liège in the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League, Oleg Shatov scoring the only goal. They also won the home return 3-0.
• They lost 1-0 at RSC Anderlecht in the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League group stage and their overall record in Belgium is W2 D1 L2.
