Bremen mindful of Valencia threat

A 1-1 draw in Spain has left Werder Bremen within sight of a place in the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, but short-staffed Valencia CF will not give up without a fight in their round of 16 decider.

• Torsten Frings' penalty (24) was cancelled out by Juan Mata (57) but Valencia must play the second leg without Éver Banega, who was sent off, and Pablo Hernández, whose booking triggered a suspension.

Previous meetings
• The teams were pooled together in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League, with Bremen – coached then as now by Thomas Schaaf – beating Claudio Ranieri's Valencia 2-1 at home and 2-0 at Mestalla.

• The teams for the first fixture in Bremen on 29 September 2004 were:
Bremen: Reinke, Fahrenhorst, Ernst, Stalteri, Micoud, Klose, Klasnić, Magnin, Borowski, Schulz (Charisteas, 61), Váldez.
Valencia: Cañizares, Marchena*, Albelda*, Baraja* (Sissoko, 74), Corradi, Angulo, Di Vaio (Pellegrino, 57), Rodríguez* (Moretti, 79), Carboni, Navarro*, Curro Torres.

*eligible to play in this game

Match background
• In total, Valencia have played 20 matches against German opposition. Their record reads W4 D8 L8 (W1 D1 L7 in Germany).

• Valencia faced FC Bayern München in the 2000/01 UEFA Champions League final in Milan, losing 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw.

• Bremen's 21 encounters with Spanish opponents have ended W8 D4 L9 (W5 D3 L2 in Germany). In their most recent ties against Liga opposition, they beat Athletic Club 3-1 at home and 3-0 away in this season's UEFA Europa League group stage.

• Valencia have not reached a European quarter-final since 2006/07, when they lost out to Chelsea FC in the UEFA Champions League.

Team facts
• Bremen's Swedish striker Markus Rosenberg and Valencia's Dutch midfielder Hedwiges Maduro were team-mates at AFC Ajax from 2005 to 2007, winning Dutch Cups in both of their seasons together.

• Bremen's Danish midfielder Daniel Jensen played in Spain for Real Murcia CF, but the club were relegated at the end of his only season – 2003/04 – after which he moved to the Weserstadion.

• Bremen are the highest scoring team in the UEFA Europa League this season, with 22 goals scored since the start of the group stage.

• Bremen's Claudio Pizarro is the tournament's top scorer, with eight goals scored since the start of the group stage.

• Bremen are one of three German sides in the last 16 alongside VfL Wolfsburg and final hosts Hamburger SV. The Bundesliga boasts the most UEFA Europa League contenders at this stage.

• Valencia are joined by fellow Liga side Club Atlético de Madrid.

• The draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals will be staged at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday 19 March. There is no country protection.

Penalties
• Bremen have never been involved in a penalty shoot-out at European level.

• Valencia have been involved in four European penalty shoot-outs, winning two and losing two; they won the 1979/80 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final with a 5-4 defeat of Arsenal FC but lost the 2000/01 UEFA Champions League final by the same margin.