UEFA Champions League, Group H

Valencia vs Lyon – Match Preview, TV & Live Stream Information, Predicted Lineups

Valencia's fate is not completely in their hands as they must beat Lyon and hope that Zenit remains unbeaten at Gent.

By Daniel Cole

Champions-League_cover-valencia-lyon

Gary Neville can become an instant hero for the Mestalla faithful when Valencia takes on Lyon in a must-win Champions League Group H game.

Neville took over from interim coach Salvador Gonzalez, who guided Valencia to a morale-boosting 1-1 draw with Spanish leader Barcelona on Sunday. With only three days before the Lyon match, he had little time to share his ideas with the team, but at least received a warm welcome from Valencia’s notoriously demanding fans. A few thousand supporters reportedly turned out to see his first practice session on Monday. Gary Neville will be aided by younger brother Phil, who was already at Valencia acting as an assistant coach to Nuno Espirito Santo who stepped down after a poor run of results that, among other things, brought Valencia on the brink of Champions League elimination. It is no doubt Valencia will go all out attack, but even if they win, they are not solely dependent on themselves, as Zenit must remain unbeaten at Gent for Valencia to go through.

One of the positive facts for Valencia is that Lyon is not in the best form either. They arrive at Mestalla with coach Hubert Fournier under increased pressure and his job on the line. Eliminated from all European competitions, Lyon has taken only one point from their last four League 1 matches and has yet to record a win in the Champions League this season. In public, Fournier is still enjoying the backing of Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, who confirmed he will be in charge of the team against Valencia and then at Paris Saint-Germain next Sunday in the French league, but two defeats in those two matches could seal his fate.

Match facts

  • Valencia have played a total of 58 matches against French clubs (AS Monaco included): 40W, 8D and 10L.
  • It will be the debut of Gary Neville on the bench for Valencia CF.
  • Neville and Rafael were teammates at Manchester United.
  • Lyon have lost 6 of their last 7 matches in the Champions League (including qualifiers).
  • Valencia have won their last 3 matches against Lyon in all competitions.
  • Lyon have conceded at least 2 goals in their last 3 matches in the Champions League (including qualifiers).

Head to head

Valencia and Lyon have met three times before. All three matches ended in a Valencia victory. Valencia have scored four goals against Lyon and conceded one. The last time they met was earlier this season at Gerland, Los Che coming out with a 0-1 away win. The most recent corresponding match at Mestalla was in 2000, and the result was 1-0.

Team news

Valencia are without a number of first-team players. Rodrigo, Diego Alves, Antonio Barragan and Pablo Piatti are injured, while Rúben Vezo is suspended. However, Los Che are boosted by the return of Shkodran Mustafi and Alvaro Negredo. Other than that, Neville is not likely to make too many changes from the side that earned a heroic draw against Barca.

Lyon have injury concerns of their own. Nabil Fekir, Aldo Kalulu, Gueida Fofana, Christophe Jallet and Samuel Umtiti are all out. Rafael, Maxime Gonalons and Mathieu Valbuena are not fully fit, but could feature. Jordan Ferri is suspended after being sent off in their last Champions League game.

Probable Line-ups

Valencia: Domenech; Cancelo, Santos, Abdennour, Gaya; Barbosa, Parejo, Perez; Mina, Alcacer, De Paul

Lyon: Lopes; Tolisso, Kone, Morel, Bedimo; Beauvue, Tousart, Malbranque, Mvuemba; Valbuena, Lacazette

Champions-League_cover-valencia-lyon

Referee: Matej Jug

TV: BT Sport

Live Stream: BT Sport