Sofiane Feghouli has demanded a response to a turgid draw against Las Palmas on Saturday when Valencia attempt to dent Zenit's perfect record and qualify for the Champions League knockout stages.
Valencia can secure their passage into the round of 16 with a win at the Petrovsky Stadium if Gent fail to beat Lyon in the other Group H encounter on Tuesday.
However, Nuno Espirito Santo's side head to Russia on the back of a poor showing in a 1-1 Liga draw against Las Palmas at Estadio Mestella.
"It was a bad game. Las Palmas had a lot of possession and we didn't know how to recover the ball," he told the club's official website.
"This draw feels like a defeat and we understand the anger everyone has. But we have another game on Tuesday and we must move on.
"We'll face it with a lot of ambition and I am sure we will react."
In contrast to Valencia's worries, Russian champions Zenit head into the contest on the back of a convincing 3-0 win over Ural.
Head coach Andre Villas-Boas - who was an assistant at Porto when Valencia boss Nuno was a back-up goalkeeper in his playing days - has overseen Zenit's best start to a Champions League campaign.
A 2-0 win at Lyon last time out confirmed their passage to the knockout stages, and Zenit are the only team with a 100 per cent record in this season's group stages.
"We always go out onto the pitch and play only for victory," he told Zenit's official site. "In the match against Valencia we will play to win."
