Björn Kuipers named for Europa League first-leg

The Dutch referee Björn Kuipers, 42, has been named to officiate over Sporting's hosting of Bayer Leverkusen this Thursday, in the first-leg of the Europa League last-32.

Jorge Jesus' side drawn against the in-form Germans

The Europa League draw this Monday morning has set Sporting against the German side Bayer Leverkusen.

Bayer Leverkusen was founded two years before Sporting, by two employees of the pharmaceutical company Bayer. Hailing from the North Rhine-Westphalia region, Leverkusen have a UEFA Cup (1988) and German DFB Cup (1993) to their name and have finished fifth in the Bundesliga on five occasions (1997, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2011).

The German side currently sit in sixth place in their domestic league, with seven wins, three draws and six loses. Leverkusen's European campaign this season actually started in the Champions League, but a difficult group topped by Barcelona and Roma saw them eventually finish in third.

In terms of previous encounters between the two sides, Sporting have drawn one and lost three, in the 1997/98 and 2000/01 Champions League group stage. In fact, Leverkusen represent a bit of a curse or the team from Alvalade, with Sporting never actually having managed to win a game in Germany in European competition.

BAYER LEVERKUSEN STATS

- Founded: 1st of July 1904

- Stadium: Bay Arena (30,210)

- Coach: Roger Schmidt (German 48 years old)

- 2014/15 Season: 4th in Bundesliga

- Current Season: 6 in Bundesliga after 16 matches

- Main Players: Lars Bender, Cälhanoglu, Bellarabi, Chicharito and Kiessling

- Last XI used (B. Mönchengladbach, 5-0): Leno; Hilbert, Toprak, Tah, Wendell; Kramer, Kampl; Bellarabi, Cälhanoglu; Chicharito and Kiessling