Tottenham and Fiorentina were many pundits' pre-tournament picks for the Europa League title and they are showing just why after three matches of the group stage.

They are two of five teams — along with Eintracht Frankfurt, Ludogorets Razgrad and Red Bull Salzburg — to boast 100 percent records by the halfway point in their groups, and a fourth straight victory on Thursday will guarantee them spots in the last 32. Here are five things to know about this week's group games:

___

LLORIS SET FOR NIGHT OFF: Hugo Lloris is expected to be given the night off as Tottenham looks for a win over Sheriff Tiraspol that would qualify the English team for the knockout stage.

For many, rest for the goalkeeper is long overdue.

Lloris made the headlines this week for playing on in a Premier League game at Everton on Sunday despite being knocked unconscious after his head collided with the knee of an opponent. The France captain was allowed to keep playing by Spurs despite medical advice against it, leading to criticism of the club by FIFA and players' unions. Brain scans have given Lloris the all-clear but he will undergo further assessment before a decision is made on whether he is available for Thursday. Even if he is given the green light, understudy Brad Friedel is likely to start against the Moldovan visitors in Group K.

CLEAN-SHEET RECORD: Eintracht and Tottenham aren't just chasing qualification on Thursday. They are also chasing records.

No club has ever gone through a Europa League group campaign with six clean sheets but Eintracht, Ludogorets and Tottenham are still on course. Standard Liege holds the best defensive record in the competition, conceding just one goal over six matches in the 2011-12 campaign. Eintracht's superb start in Europe is somewhat surprising given its sputtering start in the Bundesliga, where the club hasn't won in six games and has fallen to 15th in the 18-team standings. Perhaps it's the familiar tale of exertions in the Europa League affecting domestic form, with Frankfurt's inexperienced players unaccustomed to such a busy schedule.

Eintracht visits Maccabi Tel Aviv in Group F and Ludogorets hosts Chornomorets Odesa in Group B.

EUROPEAN RESPITE FOR SEVILLA: For Sevilla, the Europa League is proving to be a welcome distraction to its tribulations on the domestic front. The Andalucian team is languishing in the bottom half of La Liga after just two wins in 10 matches, while club president Jose Maria del Nido is also facing a jail sentence on fraud charges. "Everyone in the team is at fault," Sevilla striker Carlos Bacca said. "We need to play with more discipline and better defensively."

Trust Europe to give them some respite. Sevilla won the UEFA Cup — the precursor to the Europa League — in 2006 and '07 and is top of Group H after two wins and a draw from its first three matches.

Czech Republic club Slovan Liberec visits Sevilla in a matchup of unbeaten clubs in the group.

PETKOVIC UNDER PRESSURE: Lazio coach Vladimir Petkovic has been given a vote of confidence ahead of a home match against Apollon Limassol. The team has picked up just one win in its past eight matches in all competitions, falling to a surprise 2-0 defeat at home to Genoa at the weekend to leave it seventh in Serie A. To make things worse, bitter city rival Roma is the league leader and 16 points better off. But Lazio president Claudio Lotito has thrown his backing behind Petkovic.

"Petkovic stays put," Lotito said. "The team is behind the coach and to think of an immediate change is the wrong approach. This team has the potential to recover the ground we have lost. I see what happens inside the club and I don't listen to outside pressures."

Lazio's Europa League form is giving slightly more cause for optimism, although one win and two draws leaves the capital club second in Group J — two points behind Trabzonspor and just one above Apollon.

DEBUTANTS STRUGGLING — EXCEPT WIGAN: Three of the Europa League's four debutants — Kuban Krasnodar, Estoril and CS Pandurii Targu Jiu — could be eliminated this week but the fourth is doing just fine. Wigan, which won last season's FA Cup but plays in England's second tier, is unbeaten after four matches in Group D. That record will be severely tested on Thursday when it visits Rubin Kazan, the top scorer in the competition with 10 goals and a team that hasn't lost in its last 22 UEFA fixtures in Tatarstan.