Valencia vs Lille
Champions League
Date: Tuesday, 5 November 2019
Kick-off at 20:00 UK/ 21:00 CET
Venue: Estadio de Mestalla (Valencia).
Match preview
One win, one draw and one defeat - that is how Valencia has been carried out in Group H so far. Clothes Spain began with an impressive 1-0 victory at Chelsea, but was brought back to earth at the beginning of October when they suffered a 3-0 defeat at home to Ajax.
Valencia managed to take a point away to Lille on October 23, though, and Julen Lopetegui will feel that his team will be in a strong position if they can follow up on that with a win in this match.
Los Che will enter the match on the back of a 2-1 win at Espanyol in La Liga on Saturday, but a disappointing season so far has left them down in 11th position in the Spanish top flight.
It's easy to forget that Valencia reached the final of the Champions League in both 2000 and 2001; they are not yet present in the round of 16 since 2012-13, though, and face a battle to finish in the top two with Ajax and Chelsea are both collected six points from their three games so far.
It really will be the first time that the two teams have met in Spain since the 2012-13 Champions League group phase. Brazilian forward Jonas scored twice in a 2-0 home win on that occasion, while Valencia also beat Lille at home during the 2009-10 Europa League group stage.
Boasting just one point from their three Group H matches so far, it will take some effort from Lille to make themselves contenders for a place in the last-16 stage of the Champions League.
Ligue 1 side open their campaign with a 3-0 defeat at Ajax before suffering a 2-1 defeat at home to Chelsea in early October. They managed to take a point at home to Valencia last time out, though, and victory in Spain on Tuesday night might as well put them back into the mix.
Lille, who finished second in Ligue 1 last season, competing in the group stage of the Champions League for the sixth time, but their first appearance since 2012-13. Only on one occasion they had managed to book their place in the first knockout round, which occurred back in 2006-07.
Moreover, Les Dogues have won only two of their 12 matches against La Liga opposition, suffered five defeats in the process. When considering that Valencia have lost only four of their 25 matches against French clubs, not exactly a great sign for Lille heading into this match.
That said, the Christophe Galtier has made a decent start to their 2019-20 Ligue 1 campaign, with 18 points from 12 games left them in fifth place, just two points clear of second-placed Angers.
PREDICTION
Valencia four-game winless streak ended at the weekend after a 2-1 win for Espanyol. While they have struggled to win games in recent months, they have lost only two of their last 11 in all competitions. Lille have only won two of their last 10 games in all competitions. French side have not won away from home all season but at least scored a goal in their last four attempts.
Prediction: Valencia 2-1 Lille
