Rematch for Valencia and PSV

The 2004 UEFA Cup winners play host to their 1978 counterparts with Valencia CF and PSV Eindhoven looking to win the UEFA Europa League for the first time under its new format.

Previous meetings
• The sides' only previous meetings came in the first group stage of the 1999/20000 UEFA Champions League, after which Héctor Cúper's Valencia reached that season's final only to lose out 3-0 to Real Madrid CF in Paris.

• Valencia drew 1-1 against Erik Gerets' PSV when the clubs met in Eindhoven, Ruud van Nistelrooy (72) cancelling out Claudio López's fourth-minute opener for the visitors. The Dutch side had no response, though, when López (70) scored the only goal of the return fixture.

• The teams for that Valencia win at Mestalla on 3 November 1999 were:
Valencia: Palop, Pellegrino, Djukić, Mendieta, Claudio López, Farinós, Angulo, Gerard López, Carboni, Juan Sánchez (Óscar 77), Kily González.
PSV: Waterreus, Faber (Dirkx 59), Heintze, Van Bommel, Khokhlov, Van Nistelrooy, Nilis (Rommedahl 71), Kolkka, Addo, Nikiforov, Stângă.

• PSV's Wilfried Bouma and Valencia's David Albelda, both of whom are registered to play with their clubs in the UEFA Europa League this term, had played in the first meeting that campaign.

• More recently, the sides met in a 19 July 2011 friendly game in Wolfsberg, Austria, where goals from Pablo Piatti and Aritz Aduriz gave Valencia a 2-0 win.

Match background
• Valencia remain unbeaten in eight games against Dutch opponents, boasting the record W3 D5 L0 (W2 D2 L0 at home).

• PSV's 22 previous games against Spanish opponents have ended W4 D9 L9 (W0 D4 L7 in Spain). They have never won in Spain, and lost on their last three trips to Valencia's home country.

• Valencia are unbeaten in seven European home fixtures − five wins and two draws − since they lost 1-0 to Manchester United FC in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Valencia are unbeaten in seven UEFA Europa League games since a 1-0 loss at Club Brugge KV in the first leg of the 2009/10 round of 32. They won the return encounter 3-0 then drew their subsequent four fixtures.

• The Spanish side lifted the UEFA Cup in 2003/04, beating Olympique de Marseille 2-0 in the final in Gothenburg. They last reached the round of 16 in 2009/10, beating SV Werder Bremen on away goals after 1-1 and 4-4 draws, before losing by the same method to eventual winners Club Atlético de Madrid, drawing 2-2 at home and 0-0 away.

• PSV are unbeaten in 11 European outings, nine of them this term – a run comprising eight wins and three draws. They come into the Valencia game on a four-match continental winning streak on their travels.

• PSV have reached the last 16 of the UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League for the ninth time; they have not failed to progress to the quarter-finals since their first attempt, when they lost to K. Lierse SK in the 1971/72 competition.

Team facts
• PSV are five goals shy of their 200th UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League goal; this is their 117th game in the two competitions.

• PSV Eindhoven's Tim Matavž is one of the highest scoring players left in the competition with five goals – the same number as Club Atlético de Madrid's Falcao, who set a record with 17 UEFA Europa League goals for FC Porto last season, and one fewer than Klaas-Jan Huntelaar of FC Schalke 04. Matías Suárez scored seven for RSC Anderlecht, but his side were eliminated in the round of 32.

• PSV have had more shots on target (53) than any other club remaining in the competition. They have the joint most corners (52) alongside Schalke out of the teams in the round of 16.

• Valencia boast Dutch talent in the form of central defender Hedwiges Maduro, a 2008 signing from AFC Ajax.

• The son and grandson of famous goalkeepers, Valencia coach Unai Emery had a modest playing career but learned quickly as a coach at Lorca Deportiva CF and UD Almería, with whom he won promotion to the Liga. Valencia chose him to replace Ronald Koeman as coach in 2008.

• PSV coach Fred Rutten announced at the end of December that he would leave the club this summer once his contract expires. "It is time for PSV and me to let each other go," said Rutten.

• Rutten spent his entire playing career as a defender with FC Twente (1979-92), moving on to the club's coaching staff, and taking charge between 1999 and 2001. He was then Guus Hiddink's assistant at PSV before a second spell at Twente and a season as Schalke boss. He took sole command at PSV in 2009.

• Valencia have been coached by two Dutchmen, Guus Hiddink and the aforementioned Koeman, both of whom coached PSV too.

Competition statistics
• An updated version of the UEFA Europa League Statistics Handbook is available here:
http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/newsid=1750416.html