Young Boys v Valencia background

Young Boys' quest for a first UEFA Champions League point – and goal – continues against a Valencia side who will be well aware of the need to get their Group H campaign up and running.

• While the Swiss side have lost both games so far, third-placed Valencia are just a single point better off and need an away victory in their first ever fixture with Young Boys to prevent the top two, Juventus and Manchester United, disappearing over the horizon.

Form guide
Young Boys
• Having kicked off their first ever group campaign with a 3-0 loss at home to Manchester United, the Berne club went down by the same scoreline at Juventus last time out.

• Young Boys were Swiss champions in 2017/18 – their 12th league title, but a first since 1986.

• Gerardo Seoane's side overcame Croatia's Dinamo Zagreb to reach the group stage for the first time, following a 1-1 home draw with a 2-1 away success. Young Boys' five previous UEFA Champions League campaigns all ended in qualifying, including in 2017/18 when they beat Dynamo Kyiv in the third qualifying round but lost to CSKA Moskva in the play-offs.

• The Berne side have won only two of their last 12 European games (D4 L6), beating Skënderbeu 2-1 on matchday six of last season's UEFA Europa League in addition to the win in Zagreb. The fixture with the Albanian club was Young Boys' last European engagement of 2017/18, as they finished third in their section.

• Young Boys have won only one of their last six home matches in Europe (D2 L3), although they had recorded three victories in a row before that sequence.

• The Swiss club's last home game against a Spanish club was a 2-0 defeat of Getafe in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League group stage. Young Boys have won two of their three home games with visitors from Spain, losing the other; overall, their record against Spanish teams is W3 L3.

• Young Boys reached the semi-finals of the 1958/59 European Champion Clubs' Cup, losing 3-1 over two legs against Reims.

Valencia
• Beaten 2-0 at home by ten-man Juventus in their opening fixture, Valencia responded by holding out for a goalless draw at Manchester United in their second match.

• The United draw ended Los Blanquinegros' four-game losing streak in the UEFA Champions League, although they have still lost five of their last nine matches in the competition proper and are without a goal in the last five.

• Valencia have won three of their last eight UEFA Champions League away matches, qualifying included (D2 L3).

• Fourth in the Spanish Liga in 2017/18, this is Valencia's 11th UEFA Champions League group stage campaign. Finalists in both 1999/2000 and 2000/01, they have not reached the last 16 since 2012/13.

• Valencia did not take part in UEFA club competition in either of the last two seasons. In their most recent campaign, 2015/16, they finished third in their UEFA Champions League section to move into the UEFA Europa League, where they beat Rapid Wien 10-0 on aggregate in the round of 32 before losing on away goals to fellow Spanish side Athletic Club in the round of 16 (0-1 away, 2-1 home).

• The Spanish side lost 3-0 the last time they visited Switzerland, at Basel in the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg – although they turned the tie round with a 5-0 extra-time success at home. That first-leg defeat is Valencia's only loss in eight games with Swiss clubs, home and away (W5 D2); they have drawn two of their three away games in Switzerland, winning the other 3-2 at St Gallen in the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League group stage.

Links and trivia
• Have played together:
Miralem Sulejmani & Ezequiel Garay, Rodrigo (Benfica 2013/14)
Miralem Sulejmani, Loris Benito & Gonçalo Guedes (Benfica 2014/15)
Guillaume Hoarau & Kevin Gameiro (Paris Saint-Germain 2011–13)

Latest news

Young Boys
• The Swiss champions started the new season with nine wins from as many Super League matches to take an early grip on the top of the table before losing 3-2 at home against Luzern on 6 October. They were held 3-3 at FC Zürich on Saturday having trailed both 2-0 and 3-1.

• Guillaume Hoarau, who scored twice at the weekend, has four goals in his last four league appearances.

• The Berne club's 37 league goals this season have been scored by ten different players.

• Young Boys' ten-point lead after 11 matches is the joint-largest gap at this stage of the season since Switzerland introduced a ten-team league in summer 2003, matching Basel's advantage in 2003/04 and 2016/17.

• YB have won 12 of their 17 games this season in all competitions, but lost two in a row – the first time they have suffered consecutive defeats since April 2017 – before being held at the weekend.

• On 23 September Young Boys beat Basel 7-1 at home, seven different players scoring.

• Christian Fassnacht made his Switzerland debut as a late substitute in the 2-1 UEFA Nations League loss in Belgium on 12 October.

• Kevin Mbabu returned against Zürich after suffering an ankle injury against Basel, although Gregory Wüthrich remains out with a thigh injury.

• Jordan Lotomba (knee) and Pedro Teixeira (unspecified) are both yet to play this season.

Valencia
• Valencia have won just once in all competitions this season (D8 L2), the 1-0 victory at Real Sociedad on 29 September. They are, however, unbeaten in their last six matches (W1 D5) since the matchday one defeat at home to Juventus, drawing the last three, including Saturday's 1-1 result at home to Leganés.

• José Gayà scored a late equaliser against Leganés, the defender's first goal since May 2017.

• The Spanish side have ten points after nine games in the new Liga season – 11 fewer than at the same stage of 2017/18.

• Cristiano Piccini won his first two caps for Italy – against Ukraine and Poland – during the recent round of internationals.

• Denis Cheryshev came off the bench to score in Russia’s 2-0 defeat of Turkey in the UEFA Nations League on 14 October.

• Santi Mina has not played since 23 September and is suffering with a knee injury, while Gonçalo Guedes was replaced seven minutes into the 1-1 draw with Barcelona on 7 October having picked up an adductor problem.