Valencia look for home comforts against Gent

Valencia CF host Group H rivals KAA Gent on matchday three hoping to build on an encouraging victory last time out.

• Nuno Espírito Santo's side picked up their first points in this season's UEFA Champions League on matchday two when they won 1-0 at Olympique Lyonnais – their first win in the competition since December 2012.

Previous meetings
• The clubs have met previously in the 2005 UEFA Intertoto Cup when Valencia won the second leg 2-0 at Mestalla through goals from David Villa and Patrick Kluivert, following a goalless draw in Ghent.

• The lineups in Valencia on 23 July 2005 were:
Valencia: Cañizares, Caneira, Ayala, Moretti, Fábio Aurélio, Rufete (López 86), Albelda, Edu, Vicente (Juanlu 70), Villa (Di Vaio 64), Kluivert.
Gent: Herpoel, Smoje, Lombaerts, Laybutt, Håkonsen, Cooreman, Mamouni, Vrancken (Tracjev 73), Boussoufa (De Beule 73), Aliyu Datti, Zoko (Mladenović 68).

Match background

Valencia
• Valencia are looking to return to winning ways at Mestalla after their 3-2 loss to FC Zenit on matchday one. They had previously gone seven games unbeaten at home in Europe – a sequence that included a 3-1 play-off victory over AS Monaco FC in August.

• When they last hosted Belgian visitors, they overwhelmed KRC Genk 7-0 in a UEFA Champions League group stage fixture in 2011/12, with Roberto Soldado hitting a hat-trick. Sofiane Feghouli, Daniel Parejo and Pablo Piatti all played that night.

• Their overall home record against opponents from Belgium is W4 D1 L1.

Gent
• The UEFA Champions League newcomers earned a point at home to Lyon in their opening match but subsequently lost 2-1 at Zenit on matchday two.

• With that defeat in Russia, Hein Vanhaezebrouck's men are still seeking their club's first away point in a UEFA competition group stage. The Belgian champions lost all three of their away fixtures in their only past group stage participation in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League.

• They are also looking for their first goal on Spanish soil. Prior to their aforementioned 2-0 defeat at Mestalla, they lost 3-0 at Málaga CF in their only other past trip to Spain in the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Coach and player links
• As an Everton FC player, Valencia assistant coach Phil Neville lost a UEFA Cup first-round tie against R. Standard de Liège in 2008/09.

• Matthew Ryan played for Club Brugge KV between 2013 and 2015, winning the Belgian Cup last season. He saved a penalty from Nicklas Pedersen in a 3-1 victory for Brugge at Gent in December 2013 – although Pedersen did score against him twice that season. Ryan's overall record against Gent was W1 D2 L1.

• As a Malmö FF player, Erik Johansson lost 5-0 at Club Atlético de Madrid in the UEFA Champions League group stage on 22 October last year. It was his first visit to Spain for a UEFA competition fixture.

• Valencia's Zakaria Bakkali, who is not in the UEFA Champions League squad, is from Belgium and spent three years at the academy at Standard. He is a Belgium Under-21 colleague of Matz Sels, Hannes Van der Bruggen and Benito Raman and played for the senior Belgium side against Andorra on 13 October alongside Laurent Depoitre.

Match facts

Valencia
• Valencia have scored only seven goals in eight Liga games this campaign (including three against Málaga CF on Saturday), eight fewer than at the same stage last term.

• Aymen Abdennour (hamstring), Diego Alves (knee), Ryan (knee) and Enzo Pérez (calf) are injured.

• Feghouli and Abdennour are among 37 nominees for the 2015 African Footballer of the Year award.

Gent
• Brecht Dejaegere completes a two-game ban on matchday three, while Depoitre's next yellow card will incur a suspension. Thomas Foket is available after a one-game ban.

• The loss to Zenit is Gent's only defeat in 15 games this season, including the Belgian Super Cup.

• Sven Kums scored a hat-trick in the 4-1 home victory over Club Brugge KV on 4 October.

• Depoitre made his senior Belgium debut on 10 October, scoring in a 4-1 UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying win against Andorra.

• Sels and Kums, both uncapped, were unused substitutes during that game and Belgium's final Group B qualifier at home to Israel.

• Uroš Vitas, who has not played this term because of ankle and hamstring injuries, has been an unused substitute in four of Gent's last six matches.

• Johansson suffered a knee ligament injury while training with Sweden in early September but returned to start in Friday's 2-1 defeat of R. Mouscron-Péruwelz.