Valencia CF will face new French rich PSG in the last 16 of the Champions League. Read our in depth article about this Champions League last 16 matchup.
Valencia CF v Paris Saint-Germain
First leg: Estadi De Mestalla, Valencia. Tuesday February 12.
Second leg: Parc des Princes, Paris. Wednesday, March 6.
The noveau riche French champions’ manager Carlo Ancelotti is a European master with two European Cups as a Milan player and two more as the Rossoneri’s manager but in Valencia he faces a team with much more pedigree in this competition than his own.
In fact, only one team from France has ever won this competition in either of its formats. Olympique Marseilles – PSG’s great rivals – won the first modern Champions League in 1993 but their win was tainted by a bribery scandal. As the scandal affected only domestic games they were allowed to retain the title they had won by beating Milan 1-0 in Munich.
This is PSG’s first Champions League campaign for eight years and their first visit to the knock out stages since 1994-5. If they manage to match their semi-final run that year their Middle Eastern owners will be pleased.
While PSG wallow in oil money from the Qatar Investment Authority, Valencia are wallowing in the depths of misery. Spain’s economic troubles have hit them hard and stars like Roberto Soldado and Sergio Canale now have their wages paid by the local government after the club’s debts nearly brought them to their knees.
Los Che don’t have a Champions League title to their name either, but Spain’s third most successful club have been finalists twice, in 2000 and 2001, when first Real Madrid then Bayern Munich defeated them.
Valencia have never lost at home against French visitors and are unbeaten in 17 ties against Ligue 1 sides, but PSG won five of their six games in this year’s competition, emerging as third top scorers in the group phase and easy group A winners.
Valencia too have been strong in Europe. They were Group F runners to last year’s defeated finalists Bayern Munich up by just a single goal’s difference.
However, they’ve been inconsistent in their domestic league and Mauricio Pellegrino, a hero of their two best Champions League campaigns, paid with his job. They are now led by Ernesto Valverde, who has had precious little time to get his team in shape. Their last tie was a 5-0 home loss to Real Madrid that Spanish football paper Marca derided as ‘pathetic’ and ‘rock bottom for Valencia’. Valverde, in his second spell as club boss will hope the only way is up.
These two have met only once before, after all PSG were only founded in 1970, and that was in a friendly before the start of the 2007-8 season. PSG won 3-0 on that occasion but it can hardly be considered a pointer for this tie.
Valencia’s will hope their impressive home record, unbeaten in nine Champions League ties going back to September 2010, will be enough to get them off to a good start against a team of stars who, in big signing Zlatan Ibrahimović, have a player who’s been at almost all the top clubs without winning the top honour.
Head to head
Valencia CF
League position on February 4
Sixth
Last five games (all competitions, most recent last)
L, L, D, W, D
Odds
32/21
Paris Saint-Germain
League position on February 4
First
Last five games (all competitions, most recent last)
D, W, W, W, W
Odds
47/23
Odds on draw
5/2
Check out the other Champions League last 16 matchups :
Celtic Glasgow vs Juventus
FC Shakhtar Donetsk v Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid CF v Manchester United FC
Arsenal FC – FC Bayern München
FC Porto v Málaga CF
Galatasaray A.S. v FC Schalke 04
AC Milan v FC Barcelona