UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - 2015/16 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS Estadi de Mestalla - Valencia Wednesday 16 September 2015 20.45CET (20.45 local time) Valencia CF Group H - Matchday 1 FC Zenit Last updated 07/07/2016 18:06CET

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1 Valencia CF - FC Zenit Wednesday 16 September 2015 - 20.45CET (20.45 local time) Match press kit Estadi de Mestalla, Valencia

Match background

Valencia will look to maintain Zenit's record of having lost every game in when the teams meet in their opening Group H fixture at Mestalla. • It is the first UEFA Champions League match as a coach for Valencia's Nuno Espírito Santo and comes against André Villas-Boas, an old colleague from their days at FC Porto under José Mourinho. Match background Valencia • Fourth in the Spanish Liga last term, Valencia reached the group stage with a 4-3 aggregate play-off success over AS Monaco FC. Their 3-1 first-leg win against the Ligue 1 side extended their unbeaten European run at Mestalla to seven matches. • This is Valencia's first UEFA Champions League campaign since 2012/13, when they reached the round of 16. • Valencia were absent from last season but in 2013/14 reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League. • Valencia have never lost at home to a team from (W4 L1). When they last faced Russian opponents – FC Kuban Krasnodar in the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League group stage – Paco Alcácer scored in both their 2-0 away win and 1-1 home draw. Zenit • For Zenit this is the fifth consecutive season of UEFA Champions League group stage football. Last season they finished third in their group and went on to reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League. • Zenit's run in last season's UEFA Europa League ended with a 4-3 aggregate defeat by Sevilla FC. Their 2-1 first-leg loss in Seville maintained their miserable record on Spanish soil, where Zenit have lost on all seven previous visits. • Zenit are on a nine-game winless streak against Spanish sides dating back to their triumphant 2007/08 UEFA Cup run when they beat Villarreal CF 1-0 at home in the round of 32 to set up an away-goals success. Aleksandr Anyukov, Viktor Fayzulin and Vyacheslav Malafeev played in that match.

Coach and player links • Villas-Boas's first UEFA Champions League away game as a coach was a trip to the Mestalla with Chelsea FC for a 1-1 draw in September 2011. He later oversaw a 3-0 matchday six home victory over Valencia which took Chelsea into the knockout stage. • Villas-Boas's Porto side won two-legged ties against both Sevilla and Villarreal during their triumphant 2010/11 UEFA Europa League campaign. • Nuno was reserve goalkeeper at Porto when Villas-Boas was working as Mourinho's assistant coach from 2002–04. • Nuno later played alongside Danny for FC Dinamo Moskva (2005–2006) and was in the same Porto squad as Hulk (2008–10). • Aymen Abdennour scored Monaco's first goal in the 2-0 win over Zenit that confirmed the Russian side's UEFA Champions League exit on matchday six last season. • Sofiane Feghouli faced Fayzulin, Aleksandr Kerzakhov and Oleg Shatov at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, when his Algeria side eliminated Russia with a 1-1 draw in their final group fixture. • Players who have played together: Álvaro Negredo, Dani Parejo & Javi García (Real Madrid Castilla 2006–07) André Gomes, Rodrigo Moreno, Enzo Pérez & Ezequiel Garay, Axel Witsel (SL Benfica) Rodrigo & Javi García (Benfica 2011–12) João Cancelo & Garay (Benfica 2013–14) Lucas Orbán, Pérez, Pablo Piatti & Garay (Argentina) André Gomes & Danny () Parejo & García (Spain Under-21) Match facts Valencia • Valencia drew both of their opening Liga games, 0-0 at Rayo Vallecano and 1-1 with RC Deportivo La Coruña, making this their worst start to a campaign since 1999/2000, the year they reached the UEFA Champions League final.

2 Valencia CF - FC Zenit Wednesday 16 September 2015 - 20.45CET (20.45 local time) Match press kit Estadi de Mestalla, Valencia • They looked certain to draw three in a row, but Paco Alcácer struck in added time to secure a 1-0 win against Sporting Gijón on Saturday. • Goalkeepers Diego Alves (cruciate ligament damage, not in the UEFA Champions League squad) and Matthew Ryan (knee) are sidelined. • André Gomes missed pre-season and the first two Liga fixtures with a thigh injury but has since returned to training. Zenit • Zenit have lost their last two home league matches – 2-0 to FC Krasnodar and 3-1 against PFC Krylya Sovetov Samara. They suffered only one Premier-Liga defeat at Stadion Petrovski last season and three in the championship overall. • Villas-Boas was given a six-game touchline ban after being sent to the stands during the Krylya Sovetov Samara fixture on 29 August. • The Portuguese announced on 10 September that he will leave Zenit at the end of the season. • The Blue-White-Sky Blues are six points behind leaders PFC CSKA Moskva after seven matches – at the same stage last term they had a 100% record. • Zenit will play third-tier FC Volga Tver in the first round of the Russian Cup on 23 or 24 September. • Artem Dzyuba registered the only goal as Russia edged in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying on 5 September and was then on target four times in the 7-0 defeat of Liechtenstein. Prior to the Sweden game he had scored twice at senior international level. • Hulk scored in Brazil's friendly victories over Costa Rica (1-0) and the United States (4-1). • Garay missed Argentina's friendlies against Bolivia and Mexico due to hamstring and thigh problems respectively.

3 Valencia CF - FC Zenit Wednesday 16 September 2015 - 20.45CET (20.45 local time) Match press kit Estadi de Mestalla, Valencia Legend

ALL-TIME STATISTICS The all-time record of the competing clubs in UEFA club competition.

UEFA club competition: These are the official statistics considered valid for communicating official records in UEFA club competition defined as European Champion Clubs' Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup Winner's Cup UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Intertoto Cup and European/South American Cup. Matches in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and the 1972 Super Cup are not included as they were not held under UEFA auspices, while the FIFA Club World Cup is excluded.

Match officials

UCL: Total matches officiated in the UEFA Champions League from 1992/93 season, group stage to final only. Matches where the official has acted as the fourth official are not included in these statistics. These are the official statistics considered valid for communicating official records.

UEFA: Total matches officiated in UEFA club competition including all qualifying round matches. Matches where the official has acted as the fourth official are not included in these statistics. These are the official statistics considered valid for communicating official records. Competitions

Club competitions National team competitions UCL: UEFA Champions League EURO: UEFA European Football Championship ECCC: European Champion Clubs' Cup WC: FIFA World Cup UEL: UEFA Europa League CONFCUP: FIFA Confederations Cup UCUP: UEFA Cup FRIE: Friendly internationals UCWC: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup U21FRIE: Under-21 friendly internationals SCUP: UEFA Super Cup U21: UEFA European Under-21 Championship UIC: UEFA Intertoto Cup U17: UEFA Under-17 Championship ICF: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup U16: UEFA European Under-16 Championship U19: UEFA Under-19 Championship U18: UEFA European Under-18 Championship WWC: FIFA Women's World Cup WEURO: UEFA European Women's Championship Competition stages Other abbreviations F: Final GS: Group stage (aet): After extra time pens: Penalties GS1: First group stage GS2: Second group stage No.: Number og: Own goal 3QR: Third qualifying round R1: First round ag: Match decided on away P: Penalty R2: Second round R3: Third round goals agg: Aggregate R4: Fourth round PR: Preliminary round Pld: Matches played AP: Appearances SF: Semi-finals QF: Quarter-finals Pos.: Position Comp.: Competition R16: round of 16 QR: Qualifying round Pts: Points D: Drawn R32: Round of 32 1QR: First qualifying round R: Sent off (straight red card) DoB: Date of birth 1st: first leg 2QR: Second qualifying Res.: Result ET: Extra Time round sg: Match decided by silver GA: Goals against 2nd: second leg FT: Final tournament goal t: Match decided by toss of a PO: Play-off ELITE: Elite round coin Rep: Replay 3rdPO: Third-place play-off GF: Goals for W: Won PO - FT: Play-off for Final GS-FT: Group stage – final gg: Match decided by golden Y: Booked Tournament tournament goal L: Lost Y/R: Sent off (two yellow Nat.: Nationality cards) N/A: Not applicable f: Match forfeited Statistics -: Denotes player substituted +: Denotes player introduced *: Denotes player sent off +/-: Denotes player introduced and substituted

4 Valencia CF - FC Zenit Wednesday 16 September 2015 - 20.45CET (20.45 local time) Match press kit Estadi de Mestalla, Valencia Squad list D: Disciplinary *: Misses next match if booked S: Suspended UCLQ: Current season total UEFA Champions League appearances in the qualifying rounds and play-offs only UCL: Current season total UEFA Champions League appearances from group stage onwards prior to current matchday UCL: Total appearances in the UEFA Champions League from 1992/93 season, group stage to final only UEFA: All-time total appearances in UEFA club competition including qualifying Disclaimer: Although UEFA has taken all reasonable care that the information contained within this document is accurate at the time of publication, no representation or guarantee (including liability towards third parties), expressed or implied, is made as to its accuracy, reliability or completeness. Therefore, UEFA assumes no liability for the use or interpretation of information contained herein. More information can be found in the competition regulations available on UEFA.com.

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