Valencia CF vs Bate Borisov Match Preview

Valencia CF vs Bate Borisov Match Preview

Stadium: Mestalla

Date: 07.11.2012; 20:45 CET

4th matchday, Champions League

Coaches: Mauricio Pellegrino and Antoli Kapski

Valencia CF is coming to this match after a good run of form in the Champions League and of course after it trashed Bate Borisov 3-0 at their stadium, all three goals scored by Roberto Soldado in his first hat-trick this season.Valencia CF also just beat Atletico Madrid in the Spanish league ending their unbeaten run since basically late spring. This means Valencia CF is in good form and winning tonight against Bate Borisov will be a huge step in qualifying for the next round in the Champions League, a big objective for Valencia CF as it helps enormously financially and it isn't hurting in getting better sponsorship deals.

Apart from Jeremy Mathieu and Sergio Canales everyone else is fit and healthy and even though Rami had a small scare in the match against Atletico Madrid it seems it was just a suppressed vein which the physiotherapist seemed to fix right there at the scene, but Rami was still replaced as a percussion. Even Pablo Piatti has returned from injury and he is actually in the squad tonight to face Bate Borisov.

Last match Valencia CF against Bate Borisov was rather strange, Bate defended well, but the penalty opened up the game and as Bate Borisov tried to attack, Valencia CF sued the space and were able to score 3 times. Tonight Bate Borisov are not likely to make the same mistakes against Valencia CF and this is very likely going to be a tough and close match where both sides can win. Valencia CF must be 100% ready and focused in order to win and my worries are that some of the players may be tired as they played a really demanding match against Atletico Madrid, up until that time the most in form team in Europe.

Bate Borisov on the other hand have had a good run in the Champions League and in their domestic league. Their good run in the Champions League ended when they met Valencia CF basically, up until then they've beaten Bayern Munich and Lille. Bate Borisov also lost their last match in the Belorussian Premier League to Naftan, I suspect many of their top players were rested to keep them fresh for tonight's match.

Match Result Prediction:

Valencia CF 2-1 Bate Borisov

I feel like its going to be a tight and close match, I think Valencia CF are going to have more possession and control, but as until now we would lack penetration and unless some mistake by the Bate defense Valencia is going to struggle to score. I have a feeling that we are going to score the opening goal on a counter attack though, Bate Borisov would use the tiredness of our players and press, giving us chances on the counter that probably Soldado will score. The match would open up then and I suspect we are going to we just barely by 2 to 1.

Wilfried Bony to transfer to Valencia CF?

Wilfried Bony to Valencia CF?

With more and more certainty that Jonas Goncalves is going to move to the Premier League in England, either to Tottenham or Liverpool, Valencia CF is looking for possible replacements for Jonas. One player that has caught the eye of Braulio Vasqiuez is Wilfried Bony and Valencia CF is interested in bringing him in.

Wilfried Bony currently plays as a Striker for Eredivisie club Vitesse Arnhem and has also featured for Cote D'Ivorie. He is 23 years old, so a young player and possible long term solution for Valencia CF. He has scored 27 goals for Vitesse.

Valencia CF is likely looking to make some good money on the transfer market this winter in order to be able to fund few reinforcements and with Jonas price at 10 million and more it would be enough to fund at least two new players, certainly Wilfried Bony as he is valued at about 7 million euros, though his realistic value is probably somewhere around 5 million euros, big plus for Valencia CF is that his contract runs out in 2014 and he is not likely to extend it.

Valencia CF 2-0 Atletico Madrid Match Report

Valencia CF ended Atletico Madrid's long unbeaten streak and won 2-0 over them in what was a exciting match. Overall there weren't many chances on either side, Atletico Madrid threatened once in the earlier stages and then Valencia CF took the lead with an amazing volley by Roberto Soldado in the 20th minute.

Atletico Madrid would try to respond, but Valencia CF paired well and were fighting Atletico Madrid in the midfield, not allowing them to push deep into Valencia's third. That said what little Altetico did was dealt with by the defense.

The first half ended 1-0 for Valencia CF with both sides playing equal football and neither side having the upper hand in terms of performance. The biggest problem for Valencia was that it really did lack in attack as Jonas and both the wings were ineffective.

Second half started with Atletico Madrid attacking and for the most part controlling the proceedings, they had two decent chances with one was a shot from the left and then a header by Falcao. Valencia CF would have two decent chances as well through Guardado, both times he shot, but was shot was inaccurate and went went wide and above the goal.

Rami would develop some back problems and had to be replaced in the middle of the second half and later on Ricardo Costa and Valencia second coach would get red cards.

Ultimately the end was quite exciting as Valencia CF was holding on to dear life, but Nelson Valdez put an end to any doubt over who the victor was going to be when he made it 2-0 for Valencia CF in the 94th minute.

Technical Details:

Valencia CF  (2): Alves; Joao, Rami (Víctor Ruiz, min.65), R. Costa, Cissokho; Gago, Tino Costa; Feghouli, Jonas (Éver, min.79’), Guardado; Soldado (Valdez, min.87).
Atlético de Madrid (0): Courtois; Juanfran, Miranda, Godin, Filipe Luis; Tiago (M.Suárez, min.70’), Gabi (Raúl García, min.67’); Turan, Emre (C.Rodríguez, min.56’), Adrián; Falcao.
Goals: 1-0 Min 20, Soldado. 2-0 Min 94, Valdez.

Player Ratings:
Diego Alves 6.5 - Had two great saves, otherwise not very secure in the air, but wasn't tested too much.
Joao Pereira 7 - One of his better matches in a Valencia CF shirt. Make sure no one beat him all night long, making some crucial tackles and blocks.
Rami 7 - Confident and secure, defended well alongside Costa, getting the better out of Falcao on most occasions. Was injured towards the end and replaced by Ruiz.
R. Costa 6 - Good defensive display, made few important blocks, but needless red card as he could have been more careful. The referee was no doubt harsh, but Costa should have known better.
Cissokho 6.5 - Secure performance, did his defensive duties well and blocked out Arda for most of the match. Did go forward to a certain extent as well, but was more subdued than other matches.
Gago 7 - Great command of the midfield, spread out the ball well and pressured Atletico's midfield consistently.
Tino Costa 6.5 - Run a lot and was always useful in defense, midfield and in more advanced positions, lacks ball controlling skills that Gago and Banega have, but makes up in other ways.
Feghuoli 7 - Not very effective going forward, though he did hold the ball effectively, keeping possession for Valencia CF and covered well defensively. Lovely pass late game for Valdez to seal the match.
Jonas 5.5 - Not very effective and barely saw the ball. What little he had of it was largely basic passes and should be worried about his starting spot prospects based on his performances this season.
Guardado 6 - Covered great defensively and did have few forwards runs, including two good chances, but the first one his shot was very poor and in the second one he decided to shoot again, instead of playing Soldado or Banega. So poor decision making and poor shooting skills, needs to do more.
Soldado 7.5 - Man of the match performance, even though he didn't have much chances at all. One chance was all it took and it was what basically won Valencia CF the match.
Subs:
Ruiz 6.5 - Replaced Rami and did just as well, making one important foul to stop Atletico's counter in its tracks.
Banega N/A - Did not have the influence I was hoping he'd have, but Valencia CF was already on the back foot and then reduced to 10 men. Hopefully with these appearances he'd get to his best form.
Valdez 6.5 - Came in and almost instantly scored to seal the match and give Valencia CF the victory in the dying moments of the match. Great anticipation, awareness and calmness to fool Courtosis and slot the ball into the net.

Valencia CF vs Atletico Madrid Match Preview

Valencia CF vs Atletico Madrid Match Preview

Stadium: Mestalla

Date: 03.11.2012; 22:00 CET

10th matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Mauricio Pellegrino and Diego Simeone

Valencia CF

Valencia CF are coming to this match after a disappointing loss to Real Betis in the league at a time when the team just started winning in the league against Atletic Bilbao and then in the Champions League against Bate Borisov 3-0 at that, but then just like so many matches away this season, Valencia CF lost to Real Betis and it was a similar result to the one in Levante previously away from home, both times we conceded first and were unable to break their defenses.

With such poor results at away matches and not so convincing performances at home either Valencia CF finds itself sitting at 11th place on the table with only 11 points out of 9 matches. Now the season is still early on and there is still plenty of time to run things around, but the team must improve in more ways than one and really show it on the field with dominating performances and good results. 

The time is ticking for Valencia CF coach Mauricio Pellegrino and he is under severe pressure right now, and this match against Atletico Madrid may make or break his career here at Valencia CF and may also make or break the team as well. Valencia CF is going against the in form Atletico Madrid who haven't lost a single match since last season and have shown in all competitions that they are not a team to be underestimated as they trashed Chelsea in the Super Cup and have taken their Europe League group with ease.

For Valencia CF and Mauricio Pellegrino this is a must win match, for Pellegrino this may be his last match if he looses and for Valencia CF this may be the end of any Champions League ambitions for next season. If Valencia is to finish in the top 4 the team needs to make a statement right now and what better way than by beating Atletico Madrid tonight. They may be the most in form team right now and are still challenging even Barcelona, but they are not invincible and Valencia CF have always had good results playing against Atletico Madrid at home and this has always been a really competitive match, so Valencia really has a good chance of beating Atletico Madrid tonight.

Pellegrino rested few players in the Copa Del Rey match and so they are going to be fully fit and prepared for this match. Mathieu's injury returned a week back and he will be missing for at least 2 more weeks, Piatti is fully healed, but will need at least one more week before he is back to full training, Feghuoli is also going to be available for this match and pretty much all the rest of the players are available, so there is quite the squad to choose from.

Recently Pellegrino has been trying out a makeshift 4-3-3 formation, with Tino playing as the advanced midfielder and it worked against Bate Borisov, though not so much against Real Betis obviously, the formation does transform to 4-2-3-1 when attacking though with Tino in that advanced position behind the striker and he has shown promise there, but we might see a more conventional formation against Atletico Madrid, though he is likely to pack the midfield in order to control possession and starve Falcao out of service that way, at least that is what I would be doing if I was the coach.

Valencia CF squad: to be announced...

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Guaita; Pereira, Rami, R. Costa, Cissokho; Ever, Gago, Feghuoli, Tino; Guardado; Soldado.
Tactics: Medium defensive line, own half pressure, short passing, mostly crosses.

Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid on the other hand have been going from strength to strength and are yet to loose one single match since around summer time last season and I sure do hope tonight is the time they loose. They've had big enough of a streak and good results and so its overdue to stop. I mean universal chances here are against them and Valencia CF could really stop their high. That said they are the most in form team right now in Spain and probably in Europe as well and with Falcao as their leader they are crushing all sides they meet, so sufficive to say they are going to be one difficult opponent tonight and are on paper and realistically favorites to win, though as I've said Valencia CF does historically have great results against Atletico Madrid at home.

Atletico Madrid are right now sharing the 1st position on the table with Barcelona, just loosing out on goal difference, but with same amount of points, 25 each. Is there a point saying who their main goalscorer is? Its Falcao obviously with 10 goals scored so far, though this could be a double edged sword for them as well, as apart from him no one is even close to that amount of goals and their second striker is Raul Garcia with only 3 goals, so get Falcao out of the equation and Atletico Madrid are vulnerable again. No one even has any big assists, so that tells us that chances are mostly created individually by Falcao himself or he gets in many poachers goals by rebounds and dead ball situations.

If I was the coach I'd put a player to directly mark Falcao as its obvious to me he is the biggest threat and the way his goals come from, having someone mark him constantly would put a damp in Atletico's threat. Now other players can be dangerous as well, but with dominance over possession you can really starve Atletico Madrid out of any chances. 

Now Atletico Madrid are also defensively solid and they have great team play so obviously they are tough to crack as well, but as we saw from last season they do have problems when things get chaotic and fast, so while their organization is their strength, having a team that will play to their weaknesses can trump them. What Valencia CF will need to do is play fast football in the final third and just bombard their penalty area with crosses, which is not too tough to do with how bad our players crosses sometimes are, it will lead to chaos and that is our chance. Our strikers will need to be really effective though and we can not waste any chances. So I hope Soldado is Goldado tonight and that others step up their game as well.

Atletico Madrid squad: to be announced...

Technical Details Atletico Madrid (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Courtosis; Juanfran, Godin, Miranda, Felipe; Gabi, Mario Suares; Raul Garcia, Belozoglu, Turan; Falcao.
Tactics: Low defensive line, own third pressure, mixed passing, wing attacks mostly.

Result Prediction:
Valencia CF 1-2 Atletico Madrid
I hope Valencia CF can win, but I just don't see it. I think its going to be a competitive match, I think we will most likely even control more of the possession, but I see us conceding some silly goal from a defensive mistake and then I expect Falcao to also score some poachers goal. We are likely going to score as well, possibly Feghuoli, but I think Atletico Madrid will just edge Valencia CF.

Jordi Xumetra to join Valencia CF?

Jordi Xumetra

Valencia CF is ramping up the search for a new right winger as the coach and staff have identified the position as one of the weak links that should be strengthened in the winter transfer window. Additionally Valencia CF will loose Feghuoli for at least a month in the spring as he will play in the African cup of nations for Algeria, but even more problematic is that Feghuoli hasn't extended his contract yet with Valencia CF and is contemplating a move to PSG in the winter.

Jordi Xumetra is the prime target for this position and Valencia CF sporting director Braulio seems inclined to bring him as a cheap but quality option.

Jordi Xumetra is 27 years old and is currently valued at about 1.5 million euros and is one of the best players for Elche at the moment, along with Valencias Carles Gil there who is on loan with Elche.

Jonas could leave in January

Tottenham and Liverpool interested in Jonas

Valencia CF striker Jonas Goncalves could very well be on his way out of Valencia CF this winter transfer season. Internal sources have it that the coach and staff are not pleased with Jonas performances this season and his recent stunt after being substituted hasn't gone too well with the club and staff.

Several clubs have shown interest in Jonas Goncalves in the past including Tottenham and more recently Liverpool. Both these teams have lack of strikers and are seriously considering making a move for Jonas in the winter transfer market.

I have Jonas valued at 10 million euros in my last update and this could be a realistic price for English teams who have significantly more resources than Spanish clubs.

Feghuoli contemplating a move to PSG

Sofiane Feghuoli to transfer to PSG?

Reports coming out of France suggest that PSG are interested in acquiring the services of Sofiane Feghuoli, Valencia's sole right winger at the moment with Piatti still injured.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi refused to rule out moving for the Algerian international when asked about the youngster over the weekend.

He told Le Buteur: “All I can say is that we have established a list of Arab talents that interest us and the player you quote is a part of it."

“It will be a positive for PSG to have Arabs in their ranks.  We are looking at options to sign one or two quality Arab players who can bring something more to the team.”

When asked about the PSG interest in him Feghuoli said: " I'm flattered by PSG interest in me, but out of respect for Valencia CF and the fans I won't talk about it, but I'd be glad to return to Paris, its my city.

I feel very happy here at Valencia CF, we are playing each year at the top level and in European competitions, and right now my agent is negotiating with Valencia CF to extend my contract."