PSG vs Valencia CF Match Preview

PSG vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Stadium: Parc des Princes

Date: 06.03.2013; 20:45 CET

Round 16, fixture 2, Champions League

Coaches:  Carlo Ancelotti and Ernesto Valverde

Paris Saint German

PSG is coming to this match after a 1-0 loss to Remis in the French league, though with a 2-1 lead into this match from the first leg which was played in Valencia at the Mestalla and now they are playing at home with a big advantage. PSG are going to be coming confident into this match that they can go through to the next round of the competition and they would be right to think so, with Valencia CF failing to trouble them even at its own home grounds, while the past two matches in the Spanish league haven't been in their favor as well, dropping 4 points.

PSG coach Carlo Anceloti is a very experienced coach and has lead many clubs in the Champions league throughout his career, so he going to know how to set up the team, though he lost his key player Zlatan Ibrahimovich in the last match against Valencia CF due to him earning a red card, and so his team is weakened by this, so its likely Kevin Gameiro will start, who was a target for Valencia CF two summers ago, but decided to join PSG and since then hasn't featured much at all.

PSG squad: to be announced...

Technical Details PSG FC (probable setups):
Formation: 4-4-2
Line-up: Sirigu; Jallet, Alex, T.Silva, Maxwell; L.Moura, Matuidi, Chantome, Beckham; Lavezzi, Gameiro.
Tactics: Low defensive line, own half pressure, high frequency wing attacks, short passing.

Valencia CF

Valencia CF are also coming to this match after a disappointing match on the weekend in which the team lost the three points in the last minutes of the match due to a slip by Jeremy Mathieu in defense. That and the previous draw means that Valencia CF has hit a weak period, but will be hoping to put the past two disappointing matches behind with a win over PSG.

Valencia Cf coach Ernesto Valverde knows its going to be a tough task to win against PSG, especially at their stadium, but will be hopeful because their main player Ibrahimovich is out for this match and they also have some other important players missing through injury or suspension. Their defense has also been a bit weaker recently and there is little cover for the first eleven.

Valencia CF is coming to this match with a weakened defense as well with Rami and R. Costa both out with injuries and Valverde will once again be forced to play Mathieu as central defender, partnering Ruiz.

Valencia CF squad:

Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Vicent Guaita, Felipe Ramos.
Defenders: Joao, Barragán, Víctor Ruiz, Mathieu, Cissokho.
Midfielders: Albelda, Éver, Piatti, Dani Parejo, Tino Costa, Guardado, Feghouli.
Forwards: Jonas, Canales, Valdez, Soldado.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Diego; Joao, Ruiz, Mathieu, Guardado; Albelda, Parejo, Feghouli; Banega, Jonas; Soldado.
Tactics: Medium defensive line, own half pressure, medium frequency wing attacks, mixed passing.

Valencia CF vs Levante UD Match Preview

Valencia CF vs Levante UD Match Preview

Stadium: Mestalla

Date: 02.03.2013; 22:00 CET

26th matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Ernesto Valverde and Juan Ignacio Martínez

Valencia CF is coming to this match after a hard fought draw in the last league match against Real Zaragoza, managing to come back from behind after the team went down 2-0 and manage to secure a very important draw, even though there was a chance to win as well, ultimately 2-2 draw was a good and fair result.

Tonight against UD Levante the team is going to look to get a better result and that means a win, which would enable Valencia CF to escape Levante and few other clubs that are close behind Valencia CF and possibly even reach 4th place, of course if Malaga looses, which as of late they haven't been performing to the best of their ability.

This is a very important match as it is a city derby and both clubs have been fierce rivals, because both are the region Valencia CF and Levante has always been sort of the second club and now with them in the first division for couple of years now and even challenging Valencia CF it has turned into a big rivalry between the  clubs.

Valencia CF is going into this match without Adil Rami and Ricardo Costa who are both injured, although Ricardo Costa is said to be ready for the match against PSG in the champions league. Ever Banega and Aly Cissokho are suspended though due to yellow cards and so after a longer period both Jonathas Viera and Antonio Barragan are joining the squad. 

With the PSG match also just several days away the coach may also want to keep some of the players fresh, so we may see Soldado on the bench and I believe the coach is going to choose Guaita to be on goal, so that Diego plays in the Champions League, since the last match against PSG Guaita was rather poor.

Valencia CF squad:

Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Vicent Guaita.

Defense:  Joao Pereira, Antonio Barragán, Víctor Ruiz, Jeremy Mathieu.

Midfield: David Albelda, Tino Costa, Daniel Parejo, Jonathan Viera, Sofiane Feghouli, Juan Bernat, Pablo Piatti, Andres Guardado.

Forward:  Jonas Goncalves, Sergio Canales, Nelson Haedo Valdez, Roberto Soldado.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Line-up: Guaita; Joao, Ruiz, Mathieu, Guardado; Albelda, Tino Costa, Parejo; Piatti, Valdez; Jonas.

Tactics: Medium defensive line, own half pressure, medium frequency wing attacks, mixed passing.

Result prediction:

Valencia CF 3-2 Levante UD

These matches can go either very few goals or a big goal fest and since the last match was rather calm and with little goals, I think this one is going to be with many goals, especially since Valencia CF is missing its key defenders and I believe Valcerde is going to position the team to win this match, so Levante are going to fight back and I see many goals in which Valencia CF will just edge out Levante UD.

Raul Albiol to return to Valencia CF?

Its no secret that Manuel Llorente and for that matter the whole board of Valencia CF would like to see Raul Albiol back at Valencia CF as he is a Valencianista, played for the club for most of his life and has not found a regular starting place at Real Madrid, in fact almost every other player has been preferred over him to start matches.

For Llorente he wants to increase the Spanish and especially Valencian players in the club, as the fans have not been very happy with so few Spanish players and so he is determined to bring Spanish players in the club next summer and Raul Albiol is big part of his plans.

As you know Raul Albiol hasn't featured much in Real Madrid at all and while he wasn't too keep on returning last season to Valencia CF, recently he has given signals that he may be open to coming back to Valencia CF. Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente has talked to his agent numerous times and reports have it that the last time they talked, Albiol's agent told them that he would like to return to Valencia CF.

Of course he has a long term contract with Real Madrid and he is not likely to come cheap. Valencia CF has good relationship with Real Madrid as the club has purchased several players from them in the past few seasons and also sold them Albiol. This means Real Madrid are not going to push for the absolute most they can get and would likely take about 8-10 million for Raul Albiol, of course assuming Raul Albiol would be serious about joining Valencia CF.

With recent reports that Anzhi is interested in Adil Rami and his buyout clause falling significantly next summer Raul Albiol could be a replacement for Adil Rami, assuming Rami doesn't extend his contract with Valencia CF or doesn't want to leave, which would be really hard, especially if some big salary offer comes his way with a lot more richer clubs than Valencia CF.

Beñat Etxebarria to Valencia CF?

Real Betis midfielder Beñat Etxebarria has a contract agreement with them till 2014, but he has refused to extend his contract and will be leaving this summer. Last summer they got several offers of up to 10 million for him, but they rejected them all, but the following summer they will have no option but to look at offers as they don't want to loose him in 2014 for free.

Valencia CF is highly interested in Beñat Etxebarria and has already made contact with his representatives, trying to asses if he would like to join Valencia CF. Reports are that he would be interested in joining Valencia CF and while there hasn't been talks about salary he would be offered around 1.1 million euros, which would be over a million more of what he earns now.

Beñat Etxebarria is 26 years old and is one of Betis key players this season and last. He is a central midfielder the text book one and not a convert from attacking midfielder or defensive one. He has the playmaking skills, passing skills.

According to Spanish sources several clubs are interested in acquiring his services, including few clubs from England, German Wolfsburg is still interested in him and Atletico Madrid from Spain are interested in him as well, so Valencia CF really has tough competition to get him and will likely need to churn out the 10 million to get him.

This would of course mean that Parejo, Tino Costa or even Banega may leave. I don't think its going to be Banega as he has huge talent and can play even better than his recent showings, but one of Tino or Parejo is very likely to leave. First there is the money issue, as Valencia CF would need to get the money and while they are going to get around 10 million for Diego Alves that would only cover say going in for Iago Aspas.

Nelson Valdez becomes Valencia CF player

Nelson Haedo Valdez is officially a new Valencia CF player. Valencia CF purchased him for 3 million euros from Rubin Kazan with club officials impressed by his performances and the fact that he is a really down to earth and loyal player.

He was given a 2 year contract that will have him stay with Valencia CF until 2015. Nelson Valdez in a press conference stated that he is very happy that he has become a permanent player of Valencia CF and is looking forward to giving his all for his new club.

I like this decision as he has shown that he is useful to Valencia CF, but he also doesn't give problems for not being a starter. I think this is a smart decision, maybe the 3 million price was a bit on the high, but overall its a good deal.

Sofiane Feghouli to be sold in the summer

Sofiane Feghouli is set to be sold in the summer if an offer of 15 million euros or more comes to Valencia CF. The club has plans to bring in Iago Aspas from Celta Vigo, Víctor Machín Pérez Vitolo from Las Palmas,  Alejandro Arribas from CA Osasuna and obviously one more defensive midfielder as I don't see Gago staying and with Albelda almost certainly ending his stay at Valencia CF we need one more quality defensive midfielder or if Victor Ruiz is fully converted to that position then another defender for all of which the club would need at least 20 million euros, money which the club doesn't have. The likely option for defensive midfielder right now is Vicente Iborra from Levante for about 6 million euros, which is his buyout clause.

There could be a significant gain if the team goes through the round of 16 in the Champions League, but it wont be a game changer and from the now almost guaranteed sale of Diego Alves the club could cash in around 12 million if lucky, still at least 8 million short, most likely more.

The assessment right now is that Sofiane Feghouli is over rated and officials see Pablo Piatti, Vittolo and even Barnat on the right wing as more than able to replace Feghouli. Since Feghouli has garnered a lot of attention if he reaches a transfer fee of 15 million or more he will be sold.

Personally I think 15 million euros is decent enough of a price to sell him, I mean its a risk that he may improve even more and go on to be world class or he could stay at the current level or improve insignificantly and thus his sale won't be a big deal, but these things are always a gamble. Of course there is still a lot of time till the summer and things can certainly change.

Real Zaragoza 2-2 Valencia CF Match Report

Valencia CF scrapped away with one point from what was a very competitive and difficult match against Real Zaragoza.

I knew the defense won't be on par for this match as Ricardo Costa and Victor Ruiz haven't played together too much and Ruiz was coming from a midfielder perspective in the past several matches and so that proved correct as Valencia CF conceded 2 goals, though there is a bigger problem right now and that is Ricardo Costa got injured during the match and had to be substituted.

So right now Valencia CF only has one central defender in Victor Ruiz and we need to see if R. Costa's injury is serious or if he can recover in several days.

The first half was equal for both teams, neither being able to control the game and create too many chances, though Real Zaragoza took the lead early on as they got a penalty awarded to them. Diego Alves for being known as penalty saver hasn't really shown his skills there and really hasn't saved any penalty.

Real Zaragoza would increase their lead in the 32nd minute through H. Postiga, though Valencia CF would be quick to respond and Jonas would score a goal in the 36th minute to keep Valencia's chances and give the team the belief that they can still get a decent result.

In the second half Ever Banega would replace Sergio Canales with just 7 minutes passed and Valencia CF would gain a stronger control of the ball which in turn did provide Valencia CF with few chances.

It would be Jonas again in the 69th minute who would equalize the score who managed to strike the ball and put in into the net.

Valencia CF would be able to score again in the 77th minute, but Real Zaragoza goalkeeper Leo Franco would come out of his goal and even penalty area and touch the ball with his hands which of course saved the goal, but he got a straight red card. From the resulting free kick Parejo would shoot accurately on goal, but the newly arrived keeper would save that.

Towards the very end Real Zaragoza would score, but the referee whistled foul on Diego Alves and save Valencia Cf the blushes. Ultimately I'd say a 2-2 result was fair and Valencia CF didn't deserve more with the play it showed for most of the match.

Technical details:
R. Zaragoza (2): Leo Franco, Movilla, Álvaro, H. Postiga, Apoño (Stefan, min. 46), Montañés, Fernández, José Mari (Alcolea, min. 82), Loovens, Abraham y Rochina (Oriol, min. 74).
Valencia CF (2): Alves, Cissokho, Albelda (Valdez, min. 80), Jonas, Feghouli, Soldado, Joao, Víctor Ruiz, R. Costa (Mathieu, min. 65), Dani Parejo y Canales (Ever, min. 52).
Goals: 1-0 Min. 4 Apoño (p.) 2-0 Min. 33 H. Postiga 2-1 Min. 35 Jonas 2-2 Min. 69 Jonas

Player Ratings:
Diego Alves 5.5 - Did have few decent saves, but this wasn't one of his best matches and as a penalty expert he sure hasn't given justice to his nickname.
Joao Pereira 6.5 - One of the most consistent player on the field with great striking potency and defended very well as well.
R. Costa 5.5 - Was a little insecure and his partnership with Ruiz looks shaky, though as time passed he got more confident and comfortable, but got injured in the second half.
Ruiz 5.5 - Not good defensively, caused the penalty, but he did provide the crucial header to Jonas who scored a goal from it and gets an assist to his name.
Cissokho 7 - Went forward to great extend, especially in the second half and also provided the cross for the first goal. Did well enough in defense as well.
Albelda 5.5 - Unfortunately failed to shield the defense good enough and was rather slow in midfield, having been overrun in the first half by Real Zaragoza midfielders.
Parejo 5.5 - Mixed bag performance with really inefficient first half and several mistakes throughout the match reminiscent of his bad form days of last season and early in this season.
Feghouli 5.5 - Was very ineffective in the first half and slightly better in the second half as Valencia CF took more control on the match and had few good crosses, but nothing major.
Canales 5 - I'd say a lacking performance from Canales who had the chance to really stand out and provide something more, but I think its still too early in his recovery for him to be giving 100% and would hope he doesn't start too much and is eased into action.
Jonas 7.5 - Was his usual self that doesn't do too much overall, with the added exception of being in the right places at the right times and scoring two goals. He should look to score more goals like this every time he plays.
Soldado 5.5 - Some reports say he provided the assist to Jonas, but to me it seemed like Soldado missed the ball or deliberately left it. Either way he wasn't a big threat in the match and apart from few good combinations further away from goal he didn't do much.
Subs:
Banega 6 - Brought in  more control when he came on and while he wasn't too directly involved he had a positive influence on the team and combined well in midfield.
Mathieu 6 - Good defensive performance and had one key interception and few won duels, had also a good header on goal that was saved. Overall a good comeback from the Frenchmen after a long injury.
Valdez N/A - Did not have time to make an impact and he didn't.