Rangers FC vs Valencia CF Uefa Champions League preview

Glagsow Rangers vs Valencia CF
Stadium: Ibrox Stadium
Champions League Matchday 3
Wednesday 20.10.2010; 20:45pm 

Group C			Home			Away			Total
	Clubs	Pld	W	D	L	W	D	L	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
1	Manchester United FC	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	1	4
2	Rangers FC	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	1	0	1	4
3	Valencia CF	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	4	1	3	3
4	Bursaspor	2	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	5	-5	0

Group C	Bursaspor	Man. United	Rangers	Valencia
Goals scored	0	1	1	4
Goals against	5	0	0	1
Yellow cards	3	1	3	1
Red cards	0	0	0	0
Attempts on target	4	5	7	7
Attempts wide	13	13	7	13
Offside	8	2	2	1
Corners	13	6	3	15
Fouls committed	37	29	23	29
Possession (time)	58	69	49	67
Possession (%)	50%	53%	40%	54%

       Rangers FC vs Valencia CF




The second day of the Uefa Champions League third matchday is upon us and brings many excitements. The most important match for us of course is between Rangers and Valencia.
Rangers may be sitting above Valencia on the table with one more point, but the positions can't be anymore different. Valencia is the clear favorite in this match, even though they are playing away from home. Walter Smith, Rangers manager is aware of the "size of the challenge" when they face Valencia, while Valencia coach Unai Emery is expecting strong performance from his side and a special atmosphere in Glasgow.

Rangers are coming in this match after a huge 4-1 win in the Scotish Premier League over Motherwell FC and a 1-0 win in their last Champions League game against Bursaspor, so they will be very confident ahead of this match.

Valencia on the other side are coming off from 2-1 loss to Barcelona in the Spanish League and their last Champions Leauge match which they played at home ended in a 1-0 loss to Manchester United. Valencia also lost their leader position in Spain due to the Barcelona loss, but they will still be confident and will look to bounce back and secure a convincing win tonight against Rangers.

Unai Emery has said in his interviews that Valencia only aim is to win and not draw. The team has been preparing well and its going to start the game furiously, looking for a fast goal that will ease up the pressure a little bit and allow them to play a more confident and calm game.
Even though Rangers are playing at home they will be mostly defending in this match, their possession so far has been only 40%, the lowest of all the teams in group C and this game is not going to be any different. Valencia will have most of the ball possession and initiative and will try to break rangers on the flanks, with frequent crosses and occasional through balls. Rangers defense has been the best so far in the entire competition, having received no goals at all. Its highly unlikely they will let many goals, so I expect a tight game in terms of goals, but potentially quite a lot of chances.

Squad news:

Valencia:
Maduro and Topal are the two returning players from injury for Valencia, while out with injuries will be Joaquin, Miguel and Sofiane Feghuoli. Marius Stankevicius does not have a permit to play in the Champions League for Valencia.

Rangers:
Lee McCulloch (groin) misses out, with James Beattie (thigh) and John Fleck (hamstring) also expected to be absent. Kirk Broadfoot missed the weekend match against Motherwell FC with a foot injury but could feature, having received a positive result from a scan on his injured ankle.

Valencia CF official squad list:
Goalkeepers: César Moya and Guaita.
Defenders: Bruno, Ricardo Costa, Maduro, Navarro, Dealbert, Mathieu and Jordi Alba.
Midfielders: Albelda, Topal, Fernandes, Tino Costa, Ever, Pablo and Vincente.
Attackers: Mata, Dominguez, Aduriz and Soldado.

Valencia CF technical:
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line up: Cezar; Bruno, Navarro, R. Costa, Mathieu; Pablo, Topal, Fernandes, Mata, Ever; Aduriz
Tactics: High frequency crosses from the wings, positional changes from the 3 attacking midfielders, high defensive line and opposing field pressure, deep zone defensive midfielders.

Result prediction:
Rangers FC 0-2 Valencia CF
Rangers have a solid defense for now, but they have only been up against the under performing Mancheter United so far and European and Turkey minnows Bursaspor so they haven't really been stressed defensively, they are also not very dangerous in attack with only 1 goal so far, Valencia on the other side have scored 4 goals and received only one and while coming off from a loss the confidence and motivation is still there.
I predict quite a tough and tight match, but ultimately Valencia will win by two goals.

Official squad for the trip to Glasgow

Unai Emery has chosen the 21 man squad to travel to Glasgow, where Valencia will face Rangers in the third matchday in the Uefa Champions League.

Valencia will have one training session in Glasgow before the match, in which Emery will probably work on tactics.
In the squad there are two returning player who didn't feature in the Barcelona match, the first one is Chori Dominguez and the second one is Maduro who was injured, but appears to have recovered now.

Squad list:

Goalkeepers: César Moya and Guaita.
Defenders: Bruno, Ricardo Costa, Maduro, Navarro, Dealbert, Mathieu and Jordi Alba.
Midfielders: Albelda, Topal, Fernandes, Tino Costa, Ever, Pablo and Vincente.
Attackers: Mata, Dominguez, Aduriz and Soldado.

Barcelona FCB 2-1 Valencia CF - Match Report

The biggest match of the weekend and one of the biggest matches this season has ended, a clash between the Spanish leaders before the game and defending Spanish champions Barcelona.Both sides fought valiantly for supremacy, with Valencia the better team in the first half and Barcelona the better team in the second half. The game didn't have too many chances for such a big encounter, but there were several tries on both sides that were very dangerous.

The game started in a slow and careful manner, neither team pressing too much and respectfully sizing up the opponent, the first 15 minutes of the match were fought in the middle of the field, but Valencia slowly started to take things under control. Pablo Hernandez was particularly active on the right wing and in combination with Ever Banega and Soldado managed to create few mini chances that weren't converted.

Barcelona best player in the first half was Xavi, with most of the dangerous passes and moves coming from him, while his team mates like Messi, Iniesta, Villa and company were struggling to find their feet. Apart from few mini chances on Barcelona side they weren't too convincing either.

Than in the 37th minute after a good run from Jeremy Mathieu on the left side, he avoided Dani Alves, managed to get in the Barca penalty area and pass the ball to Pablo who slotted the ball in the net and it was 1-0 for Valencia.
Until the end Pablo had another brilliant chance after a superb pass from Soldado, the goal was almost fully open he managed to just shoot straight in the goalkeeper and the brilliant chance for 2-0 was ruined. If Pablo managed to score Valencia would have won the game right there and then, unfortunatelly it wasn't to be.

Anyways Valencia were the better team in the first half, keeping up in possession with Barcelona, even going 54%-46% in our benefit and generally playing better than the opponents.

In the second half everything changed, not 3 minutes after the start of the second half, all the defenders were disorganized and sitting around doing nothing, when Xavi released a great pass to Iniesta and no one even got after Iniesta as they all raised their hands calling for offside where there wasn't any even the slightest. Iniesta calmly slotted the ball past Cezar who couldn't do anything to prevent the goal.
After this early goal Valencia mentality changed, the players became scared, started playing more defensively, started making mistakes and the passing became just poor.
Not to take anything from Barcelona, who were really pushing hard in the second half, but our players can only blame themselves for this loss.
Anyways after several chances in which Villa and Messi either missed or had been denied by Cezar came in Puyol out of all the players, who jumped the highest after a good cross from Xavi and headed the goal in our net.

Unai Emery tried to do something as he brought in Aduriz, Mata and Vicente in for Soldado, Banega and Mathieu, but it was too late too little. In fact the better option would have been to bring in Tino Costa in for Albelda as the veteran was really struggling in the second half. Even Tino Costa for Banega would have been a better option, since Mata really hasn't proven himself in the position he was placed and with his small stature he couldn't do anything, even though he tried.

Valencia did push really hard in the last 15 minutes of the match, but Barcelona took a defensive stance and managed to finish off the game without too much trouble.

Technical Details: 

Barcelona 2-1 Valencia

FC Barcelona: Valdes; Alves, Piqué, Puyol, Maxwell; Busquets, Keita (Min. 87 Abidal), Xavi (Min. 78, Mascherano); Messi, Iniesta, Villa (Min. 82 Pedro).

Valencia CF: César; Bruno, Navarro, Costa, Alba; Albelda, Fernandes, Banega (Min. 66 Mata); Pablo, Mathieu (Min. 83 Vicente), Soldado (Min. 62 Aduriz).

Player ratings:

Cezar 8 - Reliable as always, made few saves to deny Barcelona scoring even more goals, couldn't do anything about the two goals.

Bruno 6 - Great in the first half, but almost terrible in the second, several times out of position and did not provide assistance to Pablo in the second half.

Navarro 5 - Great in the first half, but came a different player in the second, his fault for both goals.

R. Costa 7 - He had several great tackles to deny Barcelona a chance and could not be blamed for the two goals.

J. Alba 6 - Same as Bruno, partially better than him in the second half, but also partially at fault for the first goal.

Pablo 7.5 - The most lively player on the field for the whole match, scored great goal and would have got a 10 if he scored from the great chance he had 3 minutes after his first goal.

Albelda 5 - Good cover and passing in the first half, but really bad in the second half, he became frustrated and couldn't do anything right.

Fernandes 8 - Constant menace for Barcelona, spread the ball great, controlled the midfield and involved in most actions, he was not so influential in the second half, but still one of the best players in the field.

Ever Banega 6 - Obviously a bit rusty after such a long injury and not in full form, he did had several good moments though and always made himself available to receive the ball.

Mathieu 7 - Great first half from Mathieu, provided the assist for the goal and always threatening when going forward. Had few good runs even in the second half, before being substituted.

Soldado 5.5 - Had a decent first half, good off ball movement, but could not find himself in better position to intercept some of the crosses.

Subs:

Aduriz 5 - Didn't provide anything Soldado didn't provide already, could not get in the game.

Mata NA - Not enough time

Vicente NA - Not enough time

Barcelona FCB vs Valencia CF match preview

Barcelona FCB vs Valencia CF
Stadium: Camp Nou
La Liga matchday 7
Saturday 16.10.2010; 20:00pm

2010/2011 Spanish Primera División Table
			Overall							Home						Away
RK		TEAM	P	W	D	L	GS	GA		W	D	L	GS	GA		W	D	L	GS	GA		GD	Pts
1		Valencia	6	5	1	0	11	4		2	1	0	4	2		3	0	0	7	2		7	16
2		Villarreal	6	5	0	1	12	4		3	0	0	7	0		2	0	1	5	4		8	15
3		Real Madrid	6	4	2	0	12	2		3	0	0	10	1		1	2	0	2	1		10	14
4		Barcelona	6	4	1	1	10	5		1	1	1	2	3		3	0	0	8	2		5	13

   Barcelona vs Valencia CF

This is the biggest match this weekend and one of the biggest of the entire season. Both teams need to prove themselves, Valencia to prove they can be a genuine title contender and after poor results at home Barcelona to prove they still have the champions material.

Valencia are still undefeated in the League with 5 wins and 1 draw and will be looking to at least extend their unbeaten run and continue with the good performance and see if they can genuinely become a title challenger.

Barcelona on the other hand are coming from a miserable draw at home against Mallorca and will be looking to bounce up and show it was only a tiny slip-up and that they are not in any scoring crisis.

This match is crucial for both teams, on one hand a loss for Valencia can mean loosing first place standing, loosing a lot of ground in the table even with just one game, loosing confidence and moral and loosing the unbeaten streak. On the other hand anything but a win for Barcelona will be considered failure and after recent bad results there is going to be a ton of pressure to Barca players and coach.

So a win is a must for Barcelona, all else will be considered a failure, while Valencia will also be happy with a draw, especially since the game is played at the Camp Nou. Valencia will be hoping that Barcelona continue its poor form at home this season and will try to put early pressure on Barcelona in order to score a quick goal that will really hit Barcelona.

New Valencia striker Roberto Soldado is hoping his side can add to Barca coach Pep Guardiola's headaches this weekend, saying: "It's the moment to hurt Barcelona. They are suffering at home, we are playing well away and we have to take advantage of these circumstances."

Squad news:
Barcelona may be without their talisman midfielder Xavi due to a long term injury he has been caring, but he is probably going to be available. David Villa was also a risk, but he's been confirmed to be ready to start.

Valencia will be without the injured Maduro who actually has quite a long term injury and will probably be out for another two weeks, Joaquin is also injured, got this new injury only 2 days after he recovered from him previous injury. Topal is also injured and will probably not feature, but good news is that Ever Banega is fully fit and most of the squad in injury free.

Valencia official squad list:
Goalkeepers: Cesar, Moya
Defenders: Alba, Bruno, Matheiu, R.Costa, D.Navarro, Stankevicius
Midfielders:Albelda, Topal, Fernandes, Tino Costa, Banega, Pablo, Mata, Vicente
Attack: Soldado and Aduriz

Result prediction:
Barcelona 1-2 Valencia CF
Barcelona may be the defending champion and may be regarded as the best team in the world, but they are currently out of form and had bad results on home terrain. They have weaknesses in defense and are not too proficient at goal. Valencia on the other hand are in full form, confident and posses the physical power to overcome most Barcelona players especially in attacks with crosses. Aduriz and Soldado should have many opportunities and should they convert those chances Valencia can win.

Transfer speculation: Taiwo and Capdevilla coming to Valencia?

Spanish press report how in the next period Valencia would sign two new players. The first name is Nigerian player Taye Taiwo from France club Marseille. Few other big blubs are reported to be interested in this layer.

The other player is said to be Villareal left back and Spanish international Joan Capdevila. His contract ends in the summer and reportedly Valencia will jump to the opportunity to sign him for free.

Bogus or not bogus?
Its reasonable that Valencia could be tracking these two players, they are both great players and Capdevila has great reputation and the fact that his contract ends in less than a year makes him a prime candidate, but at 32 years old I don't think Valencia will make a move.
Reasonably how many years can he be a good player, one year, more than one, less than one? Its a risky signing.

Taye Taiwo on the other side is 25 years old, he is a left back also and has been playing for Marseille from 2004 and has 169 appearances for them. Taye is a more likely candidate, considering we only have one natural left back, with Jordi Alba a makeshift left back and Del Horno not fitting with Unai Emery plans.
Its a position Unai Emery has to figure out what to do, either play Alba as secondary left back or buy a new left back and play Alba as left wing, but then again the Taye won't settle as a reserve and there is a lot of competition for left wing and Jordi would have to be loaned out, unless Vicente is not given contract extension.

Anyways these transfer rumors don't seem very likely, everything is possible but there is much left of the current season and transfer plans would be made closer to its end.

Defender Miguel Brito rank so far - Player Ratings

Miguel Brito battling for the ball with Joan Verdu

Its time to evaluate Valencia CF defender Miguel Brito. He has had very good games this season and he is obviously working harder than ever. I expect to see full commitment from him in matches and in training.

Player Rank:
vs Man. Utd.; Miguel 7
vs Hercules; Miguel 6
vs Racing Santander; Miguel 7
vs Malaga; Miguel 6.5
Overall score:6.6
Miguel has had very good matches so far, although he hasn't been starting most regularly, Unai Emery has been rotating most of the players so there is nothing strange about that. While his performances have been very good as I've said, Bruno has actually been also playing very well and there will surely be more battles for a starting place over the season arc.

David Villa speaks about Valencia

Barcelona striker David Villa payed tribute to former club Valencia for making him the footballer that he is today and helping him develop as a player.
David Villa has been Valencia's best goalscorer for five consecutive seasons, always scoring more than 20 goals and even having something like 14 assists in the 2007 campaign where he was La Liga top assistant.

David Villa and Barcelona will face Valencia in two weeks time at the Camp Nou. David Villa said: "I took my first steps at Sporting, then Zaragoza, but everything I have achieved in football, Valencia have given me. In the five years I played with them, I played in the Champions League, I fought for many titles, and there is no doubt that those years were the most important of my life. Thanks to them, I’m now with this club [Barcelona].


I will try to score against Valencia when we face them, because I am a professional, like I did against Sporting. But I have much love for Valencia and respect for all the people who have made me better, so I would not celebrate.

“Their team is doing fine. They are a big team that does not suffer when it loses one or two players. Their signings have been very good, and already the players are at a high level.”