Match Preview - Valencia v Manchester United

Competition: Champions League
Kick-Off & Date: 7:45pm, Wednesday 29th September
Venue: Mestalla, Valencia (Away)
Live TV Coverage: ITV 1, 7:30pm - 10pm

Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)
Assistant Referees: Gabor Eros & Tibor Vamos
Additional Referees: Mihaly Fabian & Tamas Bognar
Fourth Official: Ferenc Bede


Form: Valencia are currently top of La Liga by one point after a spell of excellent form - that means they are in better form than the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid. Despite losing David Villa to Barca and David Silva to Manchester City, Los Che have won four out of their last five domestic game - drawing just once !

United's form compares to nothing like our opponent's form - but at least we are unbeaten in all competitions since the start of the season - something which Chelsea, Arsenal, Man City or Liverpool cannot live-up to... but something Valencia can. So, after The Red's poor third successive away draw against Bolton Wanderers last weekend, can we finally get the show on the road ?


Injury Front: Valencia are hoping to welcome back Alejandro Dominguez (hip) and Juan Mata (ankle) on Wednesday, after both picked-up knocks over the weekend. However, Ever Banega (ankle) and Vicente Rodríguez (hamstring) remain sidelined after the pair were injured earlier this month. Apart from those, Valencia are full-strength.


United will welcome back Rio Ferdinand, after the 31-year-old was rested over the weekend. Michael Carrick also returns after missing the start to United's campaign due to an Achilles injury. Wayne Rooney has been ruled-out of action for up to 3 weeks, with Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Owen Hargreaves also sidelined. 

Squad: Van Ser Sar, Kuszczak, Amos, Smalling, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, O'Shea, Evans, Rafael, Brown, Anderson, Bébé, Nani, Carrick, Gibson, Fletcher, Park, Chicharito, Berbatov, Macheda, Owen. 

• Gallery: United Train In Spain

The Gaffer: Unai Emery joined Valencia in 2008, after a 2-year spell with Almeria. Emery featured for the likes of Real Sociedad as a midfielder in his playing career. The 38-year-old has been at the Mestalla for two seasons, and has a win percentage of over 48%...

Most-Feared: Roberto Soldado joined Valencia from Getafe over the summer, replacing David Villa up-front. Soldado scored in his first Champions League game for Los Che against Bursaspor, and has formed a great partnership with fellow striker Aritz Aduriz.

The Ref: Viktor Kassai will be the man-in-the-middle on Wednesday, hailing from Tatabanya, in Hungary. Kassai took charge of 4 World Cup games in South Africa, and is the same referee that officiated England's 4-0 win over Bulgaria in the European Championships recently...

United Latest's Prediction: Valencia 0-2 United
- Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen ?