A Roberto Soldado hat-trick powered Valencia to a much-needed victory over BATE Borisov in their previous fixture, and the Spanish side will look to register another win as the Belarusian side visit the Mestalla for their Champions League Group F encounter.
Valencia sit top of the group on goal difference with six points from three games, with BATE and Bayern Munich also on six points. A win against their opponents will take Valencia one step closer to qualification to the knockout rounds.
"We have a very important game because the group is wide open," Valencia manager Mauricio Pellegrino said. "If we win, it would be a big step towards getting through the group stage. However, if we lose it will be difficult, and if we draw we would have a similar situation again in the following matches. A win would be a very important step.
"We have a great opportunity. We hope the supporters will get behind us as they did against Atletico (in a 2-0 win on Saturday]. I'll take this opportunity to thank them for the great effort they put in at the weekend.
"Only the best teams play Champions League matches. Our opponents have put in some great away performances and we will certainly have to work hard for the victory. Every week you have to work to improve. We have to handle the occasion and go out for the victory, not sit back and see what happens."
Roberto Soldado is doubtful after leaving training following a family bereavement on Tuesday, and Pellegrino said he will assess the striker's condition before making a call.
BATE were brought back down to earth by Valencia in their previous fixture, after the Belarusian team defeated Bayern Munich on Matchday Two, but Valencia will know, on their day they are capable of causing an upset.
"I'm not overly concerned about my players," BATE manager Viktor Goncharenko said. "All the ones who have come over here are well enough prepared and motivated to get a victory. We must seize every opportunity that we get and try not to show any weaknesses.
"I'm happy with my team but no coach in the world would say no to having a quality player like Roberto Soldado in their squad. One of our goals for this game is to stop Soldado (if he plays). Every coach has a plan for every game, and we will see what tactics and strategy myself and the Valencia coach adopt during the game, and we will see who wins.
"The group is very open and we have to think about that. We'll see what happens."
To watch Valencia vs BATE Borisov Live Stream, click here.
Expected lineups: Valencia: Alves; Pereira, Rami, Ricardo Costa, Cissokho; Feghouli, Gago, Tino Costa, Guardado; Jonas, Soldado.
BATE Borisov: Gorbunov; Polyakov, Radkov, Filipenko, Yurevich; Likhtarovich, Olekhnovich, Volodko; Hleb; Rodionov, Mozolevski.
Prediction: 2-0 to Valencia
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