Valencia stronghold a concern for visitors PSG

Valencia CF began their last three knockout round ties in the UEFA Champions League with a draw and will be looking for a positive result when they host Paris Saint-Germain FC. The Spanish side have every reason to be confident, having won all previous eight home games against visitors from France.

• Runners-up in Group F, Valencia will be looking to continue their strong home form against a team who finished top of Group A and have a respectable record in Spain.

Previous meetings
• The only previous meeting between the sides came in a pre-season tournament staged at the Arsenal Stadium in London on 29 July 2007. PSG ran out 3-0 winners with Amara Diané and David Ngog on the scoresheet.

• The lineups were:
Valencia: Hildebrand, Lillo, Moretti, Marchena, Lomban, Albelda (Baraja 46), Angulo, Sunny (Carles 86), Gavilán (Mata 46), Villa (Morientes 46), Arizmendi (Joaquín 46).
PSG: Alonzo, Mendy, Bourillon, Yepes (Armand 65), Sakho, Arnaud, Sankharé, Ngoyi (Mulumbu 81), Gallardo, Diané, Ngog (Luyindula 79).

• Mamadou Sakho and Sylvain Armand are still playing for PSG while David Albelda remains at Valencia.

Match background
• Two wins against LOSC Lille in Group F stretched Valencia's run of unbeaten games against French sides to 17. They have not been defeated by a Ligue 1 club since their first meeting with one, the opening leg of the 1979/80 European Cup Winners' Cup semi-final when FC Nantes won 2-1 in France.

• Valencia won the return 4-0 to progress to the final, where they beat Arsenal FC 5-4 on penalties after a goalless draw.

• The Spanish side lifted more silverware in the shape of the 2003/04 UEFA Cup, and at the expense of French opponents as Olympique de Marseille were beaten 2-0 in the Gothenburg final.

• The Blanquinegros' home record against French visitors shows an impeccable eight wins out of eight, most recently a 2-0 victory over LOSC on 2 October. Valencia were also 1-0 winners in France on 5 December.

• At home in the group stage Valencia also beat FC BATE Borisov 4-2 and drew 1-1 with FC Bayern München, who had inflicted their only Group F defeat on matchday one.

• Valencia are unbeaten in nine UEFA Champions League home games (W6 D3) since a 1-0 loss against Manchester United FC on 29 September 2010.

• The Spanish side are in the round of 16 for the second time in three seasons. In 2010/11 a 1-1 home draw put them on the back foot against FC Schalke 04 after Roberto Soldado had opened the scoring. Ricardo Costa's early strike in the return gave Valencia hope but Schalke ran out 3-1 victors on the night.

• Valencia's last appearance in the quarter-finals came in 2006/07 when a 1-1 first-leg draw at Chelsea FC preceded a 2-1 home defeat. In the previous round they began with a 2-2 draw at FC Internazionale Milano, a result that proved decisive after the 0-0 stalemate in the return.

• This season 2-0 away wins at GNK Dinamo Zagreb and FC Dynamo Kyiv helped PSG to the summit of Group A. The only goal they conceded on their travels came in a 1-0 defeat at FC Porto on matchday two.

• Those were the only points dropped in an impressive return to the competition after an eight-year absence and their haul of 15 was the highest in the group stage. PSG's tally of 14 goals was bettered only by Real Madrid CF, Bayern and Chelsea.

• At home Carlo Ancelotti's team won three out of three, scoring four times against both Dynamo and Dinamo before defeating Porto to beat the Portuguese side to first place.

• Although they reached the UEFA Champions League second group stage in 2000/01, this is the first knockout round fixture PSG have been involved in since 1994/95, when they made it as far as the semi-finals.

• The French team's record in 16 games against Spanish sides reads W8 D3 L5 (W3 D1 L3 in Spain). They were last in the country in September 2011, going down 2-0 at Athletic Club in the UEFA Europa League group stage.

• PSG's most momentous meeting with a Liga side was the 1996/97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final, against FC Barcelona in Rotterdam which they lost 1-0 to a Ronaldo penalty.

Team ties
• Mohamed Sissoko made 45 Liga appearances for Valencia between 2003 and 2005. The Malian international then had spells at Liverpool FC and Juventus before signing for PSG.

• PSG director of football Leonardo played 71 games for Valencia between 1991 and 1993, scoring six goals.

• Zlatan Ibrahimović spent 2009/10 with FC Barcelona, winning the league title and Spanish Super Cup. He did not face Valencia, but was in the Inter team beaten by the Spanish side in the 2006/07 round of 16.

• Mamadou Sakho, Blaise Matuidi and Jérémy Ménez helped France to a 1-1 draw against Spain in a FIFA World Cup qualifier at Madrid's Vicente Calderón on 16 October 2012.

• Adil Rami and substitute Ménez were in the France side beaten 2-0 by Spain in the UEFA EURO 2012 quarter-finals.

• Rami made 129 Ligue 1 appearances for LOSC between 2007 and 2011 and was in the team that beat PSG 1-0 in the French Cup final at the Stade de France on 14 May 2011. His last game came the following week when LOSC earned a 2-2 draw at the Parc des Princes to clinch their first league title in more than 50 years.

• Jérémy Mathieu played for FC Sochaux-Montbéliard between 2000 and 2005, when he moved to Toulouse FC until 2009. He was in the team that defeated PSG 1-0 on 29 October 2008.

• Aly Cissokho was at Olympique Lyonnais between 2009 and 2012 before signing for Valencia last summer. His last game against PSG resulted in a thrilling 4-4 draw at the Stade de Gerland on 25 February 2012.

• Tino Costa enjoyed several seasons in the French lower divisions with RC Paris, Pau FC and FC Sète before signing for Montpellier in 2008, while Ricardo Costa spent the first six months of 2010 with LOSC.

• Sofiane Feghouli played for Grenoble Foot 38 between 2005 and 2010, enjoying a 1-0 win at the Parc des Princes on 27 September 2008.