Valencia v Man Utd: Honours even in Mestalla

Valencia v Manchester United
Wednesday December 12, 20:00
Live on BT Sport

Valencia struggling for victories

Mouctar Diakhaby scored a stoppage-time equaliser to rescue Valencia a 1-1 draw with high-flying Sevilla on Saturday. It was the ninth La Liga stalemate of the season for Los Che with unimpressed supporters greeting the final whistle with whistles and white handkerchiefs at Mestalla.

Marcelinho's men remain marooned in mid-table - closer to the relegation zone than the top-four - following a frustrating campaign. Valencia have largely been let down by elementary defensive errors and poor finishing, but on Saturday they were second-best with Sevilla twice hitting the woodwork when 1-0 up.

Los Che were without the injured centre-back Jeison Murillo at the weekend, although winger Goncalo Guedes and striker Rodrigo overcame knocks and were considered fit enough to feature from the off. Daniel Wass has been asked to fill-in at right-back in recent weeks, although Cristiano Piccini is an alternative.

Manchester United ease past Fulham

Man Utd must better Juventus' result if they are to seal top spot and Jose Mourinho's men warmed up for Wednesday night's Mestalla meeting with their biggest victory of the season so far. The Red Devils routed Fulham 4-1 at Old Trafford in a match Claudio Ranieri described as "11 lambs against 11 wolves".

The victory - United's first in five league matches - moved them up to sixth in the standings with goals arriving via Ashley Young, Juan Mata, Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford. The victory marked Man Utd's first success by a three-goal margin in the Premier League since mid-January.

World Cup winner Paul Pogba again started on the bench, while forward Anthony Martial was missing because of a hamstring injury. Martial remains a doubt for the Old Trafford outfit, although young Portuguese full-back Diogo Dalot kept his place against the Cottages and should continue here.

Honours even at Mestalla

Valencia and Man Utd are meeting for the eighth time in the Champions League with the Red Devils yet to lose to the Spanish side (W2-D5-L0). Five of those previous seven encounters ended all-square, and with the La Liga men already sharing the spoils 11 times in 2018/19, a repeat appeals at 3.45.

Valencia [2.56] have tabled a sole home domestic success thus far and come into this clash having been beaten in four of their previous six Champions League outings at their Mestalla home (W2-D0-L4). Los Che have failed to score in six of their last eight games in this competition and have little left to play for.

United 2.94 are looking to win all three of their away Champions League group games for the first time since 2010 and boast a W5-D2-L3 record on the road across all competitions this term, scoring at least twice on eight occasions.

Little appeal in goals markets

The most recent six showdowns between these two have produced only five goals, and with the reverse contest concluding goalless, another low-scoring encounter could be on the cards with little left to play for in the pool.

Valencia have only twice managed to score more than a solitary strike as hosts this season, whilst Juventus are the only visitors to notch more than once here. Unsurprisingly, only two of those 11 ties featured Over 2.5 Goals 2.02.

Man Utd's defensive woes have been well documented but in Europe they've shipped just twice with Juve responsible for both goals, meaning the 1.84 on Under 2.5 Goals a more appealing play in what's an unappealing betting heat.

RECOMMENDED BETS

Back the draw @ 3.45 in Valencia v Manchester United