Stadion Poznan plays host to the second round of UEFA Europa League League Stage fixtures on Thursday evening, as Lech Poznan look to register their first points of the campaign against a Bayer Leverkusen side who sit eighth in the table and in the top third of the competition.
Lech Poznan find themselves in the bottom two after matchday one, having lost 4-0 to Crystal Palace in their opening fixture. They arrive into Thursday's match with 0 points from their sole League Stage outing, though their broader form across all competitions tells a fuller story — 10 points taken from their last five matches, a run that includes three wins and a draw before that Crystal Palace defeat.
Bayer Leverkusen, by contrast, opened the League Stage with a 2-0 win and occupy eighth place with three points to their name. The German side arrive in Poznan in the midst of a three-consecutive-win run across all competitions, having accumulated 13 points from their last five matches. Three points separate the two clubs in the League Stage table.
Leverkusen's position in the top third of the table and Lech's place in the bottom two frame the stakes clearly ahead of kick-off. The 34-team League Stage format means the table is already beginning to take shape after just one matchday, and both sides will be aware of the significance of this early fixture.
Kick-off at Stadion Poznan is at 16:45 UTC.