Leverkusen seek end to their Spanish struggles

Bayer 04 Leverkusen opened their Group E account on matchday two with a home win against KRC Genk and will be seeking to build on that victory when Valencia CF visit the BayArena, although the German side have found victories against Spanish opponents hard to come by in recent years.

• Leverkusen's seventh UEFA Champions League participation got off to a losing start when Chelsea FC scored two second-half goals at Stamford Bridge on 13 September. They did get their campaign going when Lars Bender's first goal in European club competition put them on the right track against Genk, substitute Michael Ballack adding a late second.

• Valencia opened with a goalless draw at Genk and then rescued a point at home to Chelsea on matchday two when Roberto Soldado scored late on from the penalty spot to earn a 1-1 draw.

Match background
• Although the sides are meeting for the first time, each have a long record against teams from their opponents' country. Both have played 23 fixtures with Leverkusen's record against Spanish clubs showing W6 D5 L12; at home it is W4 D3 L4.

• Last season's Bundesliga runners-up have not won any of their last seven encounters against Liga opponents. Their most recent victory came in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League group stage when they were 3-0 winners against Real Madrid CF, who had beaten Leverkusen 2-1 in the 2002 final in Glasgow.

• The Werkself won their only major European trophy to date by beating RCD Espanyol on penalties in the two-legged 1988 UEFA Cup final, each game finishing 3-0 in favour of the home side.

• Valencia have recorded four wins and nine defeats in their 23 games against Bundesliga clubs; in Germany their record is W1 D3 L7. Their sole victory was a 1-0 triumph at FC Schalke 04 in the UEFA Champions League group stage in September 2007.

• They faced Schalke again last season in this competition in the round of 16. Their home game ended 1-1 with Schalke winning 3-1 at home. A 7-0 reverse at Karlsruher SC in the 1993/94 UEFA Cup second round second leg remains Valencia's heaviest defeat in UEFA competition.

• Valencia were beaten by FC Bayern München in the 2001 UEFA Champions League final, losing a penalty shoot-out at San Siro after a 1-1 draw.

• In their latest group campaign seven years ago, Leverkusen won all three home matches. Apart from the defeat of Real Madrid mentioned above they also beat AS Roma 3-1 and FC Dynamo Kyiv 3-0. In the round of 16 they lost 3-1 home and away to eventual champions Liverpool FC.

• In last season's competition – their seventh in the UEFA Champions League – Valencia began with a 4-0 away victory against Bursaspor en route to finishing second in their group behind Manchester United FC. They drew 1-1 at both United and Rangers FC.

Team ties
• Ricardo Costa played for VfL Wolfsburg between 2007 and 2010 but only faced Leverkusen on two occasions, in 2007/08, when his team recorded a draw and a defeat. He scored a 73rd-minute own goal in the 2-2 draw at the BayArena on 27 April 2008.

• Jonas and Renato Augusto have both made their debuts for Brazil this year and played together in the 2-0 friendly defeat of Scotland on 27 March.

• Mehmet Topal was part of the Galatasaray AŞ side beaten 5-1 by Leverkusen in the away leg of a 2007/08 UEFA Cup round of 32 encounter after the game in Istanbul had ended goalless. Stefan Kiessling scored Leverkusen's second goal.

• Mehmet was also in the Turkey team who lost the UEFA EURO 2008 semi-final in Basel 3-2 against a Germany team including Simon Rolfes and Ballack.

• Ballack was in the Chelsea side who faced Valencia in the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League quarter-final. The London side won 2-1 in Spain after drawing the home game 1-1. Miguel and David Albelda played for Valencia, all three players appearing in both legs.