Schalke vs. Valencia

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UEFA Soccer: Champions League Schalke vs. Valencia Round of 16, second leg, 03/09/2011 at 20:45CET Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Having earned a fine away draw, FC Schalke 04 will be out to finish the job against Valencia CF, although their last UEFA Champions League knockout tie ended in elimination by Spanish opponents.

FC Schalke 04 took all Valencia CF could throw at them at Mestalla and went away with a 1-1 draw and that most vital of prizes, an away goal. For most Spaniards the return of Raúl González was like a royal homecoming and his majestic goal in the second half cancelled out Roberto Soldado's tidy opener. It continued Valencia's barren run of five draws and a defeat in the last six visits from German opposition and leaves a mountain to climb in Gelsenkirchen on 9 March. The hosts will be without Lukas Schmitz, however, after he received a second yellow card in the last minute.

FC Schalke 04 coach Felix Magath paid tribute to Raúl González, "a genuine goal scorer", after the former Real Madrid CF favorite marked his return to Spain with the equalizer in a 1-1 draw at Valencia CF. It gives them the slightest of advantages ahead of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg on 9 March but, Unai Emery admits, for the time being attention switches to domestic duties.

In previous meetings, the sides' two previous games in Gelsenkirchen ended in a win apiece. Valencia triumphed 1-0 in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League group stage with a second-half David Villa goal while ten years previously, in the UEFA Cup quarter-final second leg, Schalke's 2-0 home win sent them through.

Valencia CF's young goalkeeper Vicente Guaita saved his side from a home defeat by FC Schalke 04. Home-grown talent Guaita said: "We live on in hope; no way does this result mean the door is closed on our chances. If anyone has written us off they are making a big mistake. We'll go to Germany, play to win and make sure we do our jobs to our utmost. As far as this match goes, you could say we are disappointed we didn't win, the victory was there for us.”

After such a close an exciting last match-up, this will be a game to watch as the team to move on to the quarter finals is anyone’s guess after the last match when both teams proved to be formidable opponents with the desire and drive to move forward.