Valencia will be looking to win in La Liga for the first time since the end of October when they make the trip to Balaidos on Sunday night to face Celta Vigo.
The visitors are currently 11th in the table, having picked up 19 points from their first 15 matches of the season, while Celta occupy 13th, three points behind their opponents this weekend.
Match preview
© Reuters
Celta secured their spot in the second round of the Copa del Rey on Tuesday night courtesy of a 5-0 victory away to Ebro, which followed a 2-1 success at Alaves in La Liga last weekend.
Eduardo Coudet's side will actually bring a five-game unbeaten run into Sunday's clash, including draws against Barcelona and Villarreal in their last two home fixtures in Spain's top flight.
A record of four wins, four draws and seven defeats from 15 matches has seen Celta collect 16 points, which has left them in 13th spot in the table, four points behind eighth-placed Athletic Bilbao.
The Sky Blues were in impressive in Spain's top flight last season, claiming eighth position, and they will certainly believe that a top-half finish is achievable once again.
Celta suffered a 2-0 defeat to Valencia when the two teams last locked horns in February, but they ran out 2-1 winners over Los Che in the corresponding contest at Balaidos last term.
© Reuters
Valencia, meanwhile, also progressed in the Copa del Rey on Thursday, running out 3-0 winners over Utrillas to comfortably advance to the second round.
Los Che are on a four-game unbeaten run in Spain's top flight but have not actually been victorious since recording a 2-0 victory at home to Villarreal on October 30.
Indeed, since the success over the Yellow Submarine, Jose Bordalas's side have drawn three straight matches against Atletico Madrid, Real Sociedad and Rayo Vallecano.
A return of 19 points from 15 matches has left them in 11th position in the table, just four points behind seventh-placed Barcelona, and it will be fascinating to see what the team can achieve this term.
Valencia's off-the-field issues have been well-documented, and they finished 13th in La Liga last season, which proved to be their worst campaign since claiming 14th in 1987-88.
- W
- L
- D
- D
- D
- W
- L
- D
- D
- D
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
- D
- D
- D
- L
- W
- D
- D
- D
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Celta will again be without the services of Thiago Galhardo due to a hamstring problem, but the home side are otherwise in excellent shape heading into this contest.
There are not expected to be any surprises in the home side's starting XI, so there is every chance that Coudet could name the same side that took to the field for the first whistle against Alaves.
Hugo Mallo is available once again and in contention to feature at right-back, but Kevin Vazquez should retain his spot, while Fran Beltran could again keep Renato Tapia out in midfield.
As for Valencia, Gabriel Paulista remains on the sidelines through injury, while the match is expected to come too soon for Thierry Correia, who is struggling to overcome a knock.
Los Che will also be without both Mouctar Diakhaby and Dimitri Foulquier with the bookings that the pair picked up during the draw with Rayo Vallecano last time out.
Hugo Guillamon is in line to drop from midfield to centre-back, while Foulquier's absence will open the door for Cristiano Piccini to start at right-back for the visitors.
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Dituro; Vazquez, Aidoo, Araujo, Galan; Beltran; Mendez, Suarez, Nolito; Mina, Aspas
Valencia possible starting lineup:
Cillessen; Piccini, Guillamon, Alderete, Gaya; Soler, Wass, Racic, Costa; Guedes, Duro
We say: Celta Vigo 2-2 Valencia
There has not actually been a draw between these two sides in the league since September 2018, but we are predicting the spoils to be shared here. Both teams are capable of scoring goals, and it would not be a surprise to see an entertaining 2-2 draw on Sunday evening.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Celta Vigo win with a probability of 38.81%. A win for Valencia had a probability of 33.27% and a draw had a probability of 27.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Celta Vigo win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.71%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.1%) and 2-0 (7.23%). The likeliest Valencia win was 0-1 (10.63%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.12%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 7.4% likelihood.
