Valencia and Schalke meet again at Mestalla

The last time Valencia CF were involved in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds they failed to win either of their home games so they will keen for a positive outcome when they entertain FC Schalke 04.

Previous meetings
• The sides' two previous competitive matches at Mestalla both ended in draws. It finished 0-0 in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League group stage and 1-1 ten years previously in a UEFA Cup quarter-final second leg. On that occasion Schalke's 2-0 home win sent them through while the 2007 Gelsenkirchen contest ended in a 1-0 victory for Valencia.

• The full lineups for the 28 November 2007 game at Mestalla were:
Valencia: Cañizares, Marchena, Caneira (Albiol 43), Helguera, Miguel, Albelda, Vicente (Silva 72), Joaquín, Edu, Villa, Morientes (Manuel Fernandes 35).
Schalke: Neuer, Westermann, Bordon, Rafinha, Krstajić, Ernst, Rakitić (Grossmüller 66), Jones (Bajramović 71), Özil, Halil Altıntop (Asamoah 80), Kuranyi.

• Valencia's last six home games against German visitors have produced five draws and a defeat. Their most recent victory came in October 1996 with a 3-0 success against FC Bayern München in a UEFA Cup first round tie. They have won just three of their ten home matches against German sides; their overall record is W4 D9 L8.

• Valencia have less happy memories from their meeting with Bayern in the 2001 UEFA Champions League final, losing a penalty shoot-out at San Siro after a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time.

• Schalke's record in eight competitive games away to other Spanish opponents includes two wins and a draw. In a total of 19 games their record is W6 D5 L8.

Match background
• Unai Emery's Valencia lost their first home game in Group C 1-0 to Manchester United FC but then posted impressive victories against Rangers FC (3-0) and Bursaspor (6-1). Away from home they drew 1-1 at Rangers and United and won 4-0 at Bursaspor.

• Schalke opened with 1-0 defeat at Olympique Lyonnais that proved their only reverse in Group B. Their other away games produced a 0-0 draw at Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC and a 2-1 victory against SL Benfica.

• When Valencia were last at this stage in 2006/07, they beat FC Internazionale Milano on away goals with a 2-2 draw in Italy and a goalless home tie. They then drew 1-1 at Chelsea FC in the quarter-final first leg but lost 2-1 at home.

• Schalke's only previous knockout appearance came in 2007/08 when they beat FC Porto 4-1 on penalties after both legs ended 1-0 to the home side. They lost both games of their quarter-final against FC Barcelona 1-0.

Team ties
• Ricardo Costa played for VfL Wolfsburg from 2007 to 2010, working under current Schalke coach Felix Magath until 2009. Costa twice faced Schalke, winning 2-1 in Gelsenkirchen in 2007/08 when Manuel Neuer was on the opposite side.

• The following season – which ended with Costa celebrating his side's championship triumph – the Gelsenkirchen fixture ended 2-2.

• In the semi-final of UEFA EURO 2008 Christoph Metzelder's Germany beat Mehmet Topal's Turkey 3-2 in Basel.

• José Manuel Jurado was part of the Club Atlético de Madrid side that overcame Valencia in last season's UEFA Europa League quarter-finals. He also previously played for RCD Mallorca (2008/09) and Real Madrid CF (2002 to 2006).

• Before joining the Gelsenkirchen club last summer, Rául González had spent his entire senior career with Real Madrid. He scored in their 3-0 defeat of Valencia in the UEFA Champions League final in May 2000 and in 24 league games against these opponents found the net 12 times, including five goals at Mestalla.

• Metzelder faced Valencia three times while at Real Madrid between 2007 and 2010, winning twice and losing once.

• Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Hedwiges Maduro have appeared together for the Netherlands national team.