Valencia hope to extend United's Spanish drought

Valencia CF will look to extend their 11-match unbeaten home run in Europe when Manchester United FC visit Mestalla on Matchday 2.

• United opened Group C with a goalless draw at home to Rangers FC and have only ever won once away to Spanish opposition, while Unai Emery's side started strongly this time round after running out 4-0 victors at newcomers Bursaspor.

Previous meetings
• The clubs first met in the 1982/83 UEFA Cup. On 29 September 1982, Valencia prevailed 2-1 at Mestalla to win their first-round tie following a goalless opener in Manchester two weeks earlier. Bryan Robson (45) gave United the lead but Valencia hit back through Daniel Solsona (70) and Roberto Fernández (75).

• They met again in the UEFA Champions League second group stage in 1999/2000, United winning 3-0 at home – Roy Keane, Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Paul Scholes the scorers – and drawing 0-0 away. United topped the group but Valencia went on to reach the final.

• The following season they pitted wits in the second group stage once more and this time played out two draws, 0-0 at Mestalla and 1-1 at Old Trafford after Wes Brown's own goal (86) cancelled out Andrew Cole's 12th-minute opener. Valencia won the group and reached the final again.

• Vicente Rodríguez and David Albelda were unused replacements for the clubs' 2001 Mestalla meeting, then appeared as substitutes at Old Trafford. United's team included Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Scholes and Brown. Neville and Scholes are the only survivors of the 1999/2000 stalemate in Spain.

Match background
• Valencia were unbeaten at home against English opposition until 2007 but subsequently suffered two defeats by Chelsea FC, losing 2-1 in both the 2006/07 quarter-final second leg and the 2007/08 group stage.

• Their overall home record against English visitors is W7 D4 L2.

• Valencia beat Arsenal FC on penalties to capture the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup after a goalless draw in the 1979/80 final. They then got the better of Nottingham Forest FC in the following season's UEFA Super Cup, and in 2000/01 defeated Arsenal and Leeds United AFC in successive rounds to reach the UEFA Champions League final.

• Valencia are unbeaten in 11 European home matches but have won only five of them.

• United have won just once in 18 visits to Spanish opponents, with eight draws and nine defeats.

• Their solitary victory was a 2-0 success at RC Deportivo La Coruña in the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg.

• United failed to score on their last three trips to Spain and their most recent meeting with Liga opposition brought a 2-0 loss to FC Barcelona in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League final in Rome.

• United did beat Barcelona in the 1990/91 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final.

Team ties
• United's 1991 triumph against Barcelona was the second time Sir Alex Ferguson had claimed that trophy at the expense of Spanish opponents after his Aberdeen FC side defeated Real Madrid CF 2-1 in the 1983 final.

• César Sánchez was on the bench for Real Madrid in both legs of their 2002/03 quarter-final win against United. He spent five months with Tottenham Hotspur FC in 2008/09 but played just 16 minutes as a substitute in a League Cup win against Liverpool FC.

• Ricardo Costa suffered home and away losses against United with VfL Wolfsburg in last season's UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Alejandro Domínguez was in the FC Zenit St. Petersburg side that beat United in the 2008 UEFA Super Cup.

• Manuel Fernandes faced United with two different clubs in 2006/07. He was on loan at Portsmouth FC when they lost 3-0 at Old Trafford in November 2006. By April he was on loan at Everton and scored to put them 2-0 up against United at Goodison Park, only for Ferguson's men to fight back and win 4-2.

• The injured Antonio Valencia spent 2005/06 in Spain, making two Liga appearances for Villarreal CF and another 12 on loan at RC Recreativo de Huelva.