We will be here from 19.00 GMT to give you live build up, commentary and analysis of PSG’s Champions League 1st Leg away to Valencia. Manually refresh this page for the latest updates!
21.38 FT: Valencia 1-2 PSG: The red card for Ibra looks very harsh on the replay and now Valencia really have some momentum to take them into the next leg. Ancelotti will be furious.
21.36: RED CARD: Ibrahimovic has been sent off by the referee for a high challenge on left back Guardado. No hesitation. Feeble arguments from PSG players and Ancelotti. Ibra likely to miss next 2 CL games. Wow. Really stupid.
21.34 GOAL VALENCIA: Adil Rami, the French centre back has just tapped in a Valdez free kick to keep this tie alive! 1-2!
21.32 Pastore is replaced by Armand as Ancelotti’s men look to soak up the Spanish pressure as we creep towards stoppages at the Mestalla.
21.30 Another serious chance for Tino Costa and a heart in mouth moment for PSG fans as Sirigu just tips his effort wide. Pastore by the way has been brilliant today. Certainly gone a long way to routing the doubters.
21.27 Valencia’s last role of the dice is to withdraw the disappointing Feghouli and replace him with attacking midfielder Viera.
21.25 Ancelotti has also withdrawn the wasteful Lavezzi who should’ve had at least 2 more goals. The forever sulky-looking Menez replaced him.
21.23 Apologies for the gap in coverage, technical difficulties. PSG had a goal disallowed for offside after Chantome thought he had put the game out of sight for Valencia. You cant rule the home side out, they had an excellent chance for Costa who should’ve pulled one back.
21.10: Ibrahimovic this time with the chance as PSG hit Valencia on the counter yet again. The dynamics have not really changed from the 1st half, just that Valencia don’t have the quality today to match Sakho at the back.
21.09: Lavezzi bordering on being disrespectful there. Tries an outrageous shot trick type of thing and the keeper Guaita is equal too it. Could have easily made it 3-0 if he had hit the shot properly.
21.06: Pastore potentially having the best game of his PSG career so far? Never seen him defend and go forward so hungrily. Earlier to the Lavezzi chance, Soldado made PSG keeper Sirigu work for the first time today. The captain for Valencia has been rather weak today.
21.04: Lavezzi should have had this tie all wrapped up. The Argentine has a great chance to put the ball in the back of the net on the follow up of Ibra’s rebound but some how fails to do so.
21.03: Valencia continue to push forward as PSG convert to a simple 4-4-2. Chantome has looked a bit off the pace since he came on.
20.57: Ancelotti takes off the decent Lucas Moura for utility midfielder Clement Chantome.
20.56: Promising start to the half for Valencia. The substitutes have sparked them into life. The home side look to have some purpose this half.
20.52: Two changes for Valencia at half time incidentally . Canales/Valdez on. Banega/Jonas.
20.48: 2nd half underway.
20.45: Both sides coming out of the tunnel.
20.43: James Carruthers here to take over the coverage as the 2nd half is about to get underway.
20.32: HALF TIME: Valencia 0-2 PSG: Succession of 3 Valencia corners do absolutely nothing and the referee calls for the end of the 1st period. You’d think that one more PSG goal would wrap the whole tie up already.
20.31: Into stoppage time here. You have to feel for Valencia. Have tried very hard going forward but can’t break the PSG defence down. Sakho has been excellent. PSG content just to hit them on the counter attack.
20.28: GOAL PSG: A lovely run from Lucas Moura down the right hand side sees him cut it back for Pastore who angles his sidefooted shot into the bottom left corner. Harsh on Valencia who have been trying harder to make something.
20.23: Good buildup from PSG culminating in Pastore laying it off for LAvezzi after a bit of tinkering inside the box. The defender Costa did enough to stop any threating arising however.
20.22: Valencia have completed 224 passes so far whereas PSG have completed just 92.
20.20: Tino Costa whips in a Valencia free kick, but the header is way over from Jonas.
20.18: Incidentally, Marco Verratti will now miss the 2nd leg thanks to that booking. Was certainly avoidable.
20.16: A bit of fistycuffs as Lavezzi goes down after a rough challenge. Marco Verratti and Joao Pereira are both booked in the ensuing trouble.
20.13: Lucas Moura has just dribbled have the pitch and produced a decent save from Guaita. Lovely to watch the young Brazilian.
20.11: Another dangerous counter attack started by Verratti who slides in Ibra, but the Swede cannot supply a decent enough ball to find Pastore and Lucas ends up smashing the attempt from the other end of the area over.
20.10: Valencia with 63% possession thus far. A few half chances to show for it too.
20.07: Some lovely passages of play from Valencia with Parejo providing decent service down the right. PSG will always be a threat on the counter attack though.
20.04: Valencia need to play with more intensity when they are on the ball. Banega has a chance at a half volley inside the box but he limply slices it as it goes for a goal kick.
20.00: Valencia have responded relatively after going behind, nice play down the right from Feghouli but the cross is weak.
19.57: Valencia look to bounce straight back and some fans trying to claim a pen as Soldado wins the corner. RE: Lavezzi’s goal, the Valencia keeper lets the shot go straight through his arms. Really poor.
19.56: GOAL PSG: Les Parisiens lead 1-0 thanks to very poor defending from Valencia. A simple one-two is played between Pastore and Lavezzi and the latter player skips all too easily past the challenge of Costa and the Argentine lashes home.
19.55: Lucas Moura has hit the post with a great effort after the ref played the advantage!
19.54: Javier Pastore has started this game clumsily. Mainly Valencia with the ball, and when PSG do get scraps, Pastore and Moura are giving it away.
19.51: Valencia have settled into the game better than PSG in the opening minutes. Soldado just caught offside after the ball through.
19.49: Lavezzi looks to take on Guardado but ends up conceding the free kick. Should be an interesting battle that one.
19.47: Lucas Moura has gone down with a bit of a tumble. Holding his ankle but looks fine to resume.
19.46: We are underway at the Mestalla!
19.43: Very close to being underway. The classic Champions League anthem rings around a half empty (as usual) Mestalla.
19.35: 10 minutes until kick off, this is incidentally the 1st time in football history that Valencia and PSG meant competitively.
19.31: Ray Wilkins: ‘You know what’s going to turn up. An arrogant Swedish genius.’ (Ibrahimovic)
19.30: Ray Wilkins: ‘I don’t know why Carlo Ancelotti has gone to France. He is a top manager.’
19.28: Ray Wilkins: ‘I think the league PSG are in is not competitive enough. They will have to pay a lot of money to bring players in. Some players will want more competitive football.’
19.28: Carlo Ancelotti: ‘Zlatan is a big player, a winning man.’
19.27: Carlo Ancelotti: ‘I would like to come back to England one day.’
19.19: PSG Substitutes: Douchez, Camara, Armand, Van Der Wiel, Menez, Chantome, Gameiro.
19.18: Valencia Substitutes: Alves, Victor Ruiz, Albelda, Piatti, Canales, Viera, Nelson Valdez
19.13: Stat attack over, score predictions for tonight’s game? Tweet us and the best will be quoted here!
19.12: STAT: No French club has ever kept a clean sheet at the Mestalla.
19.11: STAT: PSG have conceded the least amount of goals in the Champions League this season, 3.
19.10: STAT: Soldado has scored 14 goals in his last 14 Champions League starts.
19.09: STAT: Valencia have been awarded the most penalties in the Champions League this season.
19.08: STAT: Adil Rami has only beaten PSG once in 7 attempts.
19.07: STAT: Valencia are unbeaten in 9 Champions League home games.
19.06: STAT: PSG are unbeaten in 13 games when Sakho and Alex have been the centre-back pairing.
19.04: So, Pastore is preferred to Menez by Ancelotti this evening, with a PSG side looking like starting with a sort of 4-4-2 formation. Guardado slots in at left-back for Valencia while Guaita takes his place between the sticks instead of Diego Alves. A few stats to come.
19:00: Valencia team to face PSG: Guaita, Joao, Rami, R.Costa, Guardado, Parejo, Tino Costa, Banega, Jonas, Feghouli, Soldado.
19.00: PSG team to face Valencia: Sirigu – Jallet, Alex, M. Sakho, Maxwell – Lucas, Verratti, Matuidi, Pastore – Lavezzi, Ibrahimovic.
19.00: Here to guide you through today’s UCL encounter between Liga BBVA underachievers Valencia and current leaders of Ligue 1 PSG. Teams to follow.
