St Gallen seek redress against Valencia

FC St Gallen will seek to atone for a miserable performance at Mestalla on matchday three when they bring Valencia CF back to Switzerland in UEFA Europa League Group A.

Previous meetings
• The Swiss side were 4-0 down within 33 minutes of their first fixture against a Spanish club, before Valencia went on to win 5-1. The margin of defeat matched St Gallen's heaviest European losses in the past, and was their worst continental result since they succumbed 5-1 to FC Internazionale Milano in the first leg of a UEFA Cup first round tie in September 1985.

• Valencia's five games against Swiss teams have ended W3 D2 L0 – they have won all of their home fixtures and drew 2-2 in both of their previous visits to Switzerland.

• In the last five meetings between clubs representing these nations on Swiss soil, Spanish sides have recorded four victories, though the most recent produced a Swiss success, BSC Young Boys beating Getafe CF 2-0 in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League group stage.

Match background
• St Gallen last played in this competition when they were eliminated in the second round of the 2001/02 UEFA Cup by SC Freiburg.

• St Gallen's 2-0 win against FC Kuban Krasnodar on matchday one was their first victory in four European home outings since they beat B68 Toftir 5-1 in the first round of the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup.

• Valencia made it through to the knockout phase in both of their previous group stage attempts in this competition – in 2008/09 and 2009/10. They have not had a European season that has been over by Christmas since 2007/08, when they finished bottom of their UEFA Champions League group.

• Valencia are unbeaten in four European away games (W3 D1), a run which stretches back to last season's UEFA Champions League group stage.

Team facts
• Valencia defender Antonio Barragán played alongside St Gallen's Guinean forward Alhassane Keita at Real Valladolid CF while the latter was on loan at the then second-tier side at the start of the 2010/11 season. Keita also played in the Spanish top division for RCD Mallorca from 2008 to 2010 but never came up against Valencia.

• St Gallen's German midfielder Dejan Janjatovic briefly played in Spain for Getafe CF's B team, though his only competitive appearance was a 4-0 third-tier defeat by Real Madrid Castilla.

Coach information
• St Gallen coach Jeff Saibene is the first Luxembourger to lead a club in a major UEFA club competition group stage. Having moved abroad as a teenager to sign for R. Standard de Liège, the midfielder left three years later for Switzerland, where he spent much of his career. After coaching spells at FC Thun and FC Aarau, he joined St Gallen in March 2011, leading them back to the top division in his first full season and to third place in his second.

• Serbian coach Miroslav Djukić returned in June 2013 to the club he served as a sweeper from 1997-2003; two UEFA Champions League finals and the 2001/02 title with Valencia represented the pinnacles of his long playing career in Spain. As a coach, he led FK Partizan and Serbia as well as Belgium's R. Excelsior Mouscron before returning to Spain to take charge of Hércules CF and then Real Valladolid CF.