Qabala is one of only two teams still in the competition that had started in the first qualifying round, the other being with Norwegian club Rosenborg BK.
During their successful run, Qabala have relied on great form at home, where they've won in all three qualifying rounds and wrested a draw from Panathinaikos in the play-off. That's notable because Qabala don't get to play in front of their own fans.
They play their Europa League home games in the capital, Baku, more than a three-hour drive away from Qabala. Despite that disadvantage, Qabala have yet to concede a goal at home in the competition, as German magazine Kicker noted.
In the two group matches so far, Qabala drew 0-0 with PAOK Salonika and lost 1-2 at FC Krasnodar, sitting in last place of Group C.
They currently hold the second spot in the Azerbaijani league, trailing last year's champions FK Qarabag by one point. It's not the first trip to Azerbaijan for Dortmund. In 2010, they faced Qarabag in the Europa League play-off, winning 5-0 on aggregate. Eight of Dortmund's current players made the trip for the return leg that year, which was held in Baku as well.
Dortmund snapped a streak of four winless games on Friday, beating Mainz 2-0 away from home. After beating Krasnodar 2-1 and drawing 1-1 with PAOK, they can make a big step toward the round of 32 at Qabala. A win would give them an advantage of at least four points over the third-placed team, because PAOK and Krasnodar face each other.
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