Through half of the fixtures in the UEFA Champions League group stages, Valencia are in a hole. Thanks to Sidney Sam's stunning winner for Bayer Leverkusen against Los Che on Matchday 3, they now trail Bayer by four points for second place in Group E. Valencia can still qualify, but anything less than a win over Leverkusen at the Mestalla would effectively end their Champions League campaign.
The good news for Valencia is that they're in excellent form domestically and that they played well in Germany before Sam scored his winner. They're very much capable of grabbing all three points and getting back on track towards qualification. Their defeat to Leverkusen was just one of two this season; the other was a loss away to Sevilla and Los Che have managed draws against Barcelona and Chelsea.
Michael Ballack is questionable with a broken nose and will have to wear a mask if he plays, while Renato Augusto is out with a long-term injury. This could lead to Bayer Leverkusen going with Eren Derdioyk and Stefan Kiessling in a 4-4-2, but no matter how they line up the side, there will be pressure on Andre Schürrle and Sidney Sam to perform.
Valencia vs. Bayer Leverkusen kicks off at 3:45 pm ET, 7:45 pm GMT and 8:45 pm local. We'll have live coverage of this match and all of the other Champions League action in our UEFA Champions League Tuesday, Matchday 4 StoryStream. For more on the entire world of football, visit SB Nation Soccer.
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