European hopefuls Valencia will be bidding to bounce back from successive La Liga defeats when they continue their campaign at home to Alaves on Sunday evening.
Los Che are eighth in the table, two points behind seventh-placed Real Betis, while Alaves occupy 12th spot, 12 points clear of the relegation zone with five games left to play.
Match preview
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It would have been difficult for Valencia to perform as poorly as they did last season, when they finished down in 16th position in La Liga, which represented their worst final spot since being relegated from the top flight at the end of the 1985-86 campaign.
There has been huge improvement this term, with Los Che sitting up in eighth, picking up 47 points from their 33 league games this season courtesy of a record of 13 wins, eight draws and 12 defeats.
Valencia are very much in a European race at this stage of the season, sitting two points behind seventh-placed Real Betis, who occupy a Conference League playoff spot, and four points from sixth-placed Real Sociedad, who are qualifying for the group stage of the 2024-25 Europa League as it stands.
Ruben Baraja's side will enter this match off the back of successive losses, though, going down 2-1 at home to Real Betis on April 20 before suffering a 4-2 defeat to Barcelona last time out.
Valencia will be pleased to be back on home soil this weekend, as they have picked up 29 points from their 16 matches in front of their own supporters, suffering just three losses in the process.
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Alaves, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of an impressive 3-0 win over Celta Vigo last weekend, with the result moving them onto 38 points from 33 league matches.
El Glorioso secured a return to La Liga through last season's Segunda Division playoffs, so any spot over 18th would be considered as a successful campaign for the club.
With that in mind, it would be fair to say that Luis Garcia Plaza's side have performed above expectations, sitting up in 12th spot in the table, only five points behind 10th-placed Getafe.
Alaves are 12 points ahead of 18th-placed Cadiz, meanwhile, and they will already be looking ahead to another season at this level of football.
The Blue and Whites, who have only managed two league wins on their travels this season, have actually beaten Valencia in the last two La Liga matches between the two sides, including a 1-0 success when they locked horns for the reverse fixture back in September.
Team News
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Valencia will again be without the services of Fran Perez, Jose Gaya, Mouctar Diakhaby and Roman Yaremchuk through injury for this weekend's contest with Alaves.
Los Che will also be unable to call upon their number one goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, who was sent off in the latter stages of the first half against Barcelona last time out.
Jaume Domenech will therefore be given the nod between the sticks, while there could be a reshuffle in midfield, with Javi Guerra potentially moving into a wide area to allow Hugo Guillamon to come into the middle alongside Pepelu, who was on the scoresheet against the reigning champions.
As for Alaves, Ruben Duarte will miss Sunday's contest due to the muscular problem that he picked up in the clash with Celta last time out.
The visitors will also again be without Adrian Rodriguez and Aleksandar Sedlar, but Rafa Marin and Abdel Abqar are both available after serving suspensions in the team's last game.
Marin is set to return in the middle of the defence as Duarte's replacement, but it might otherwise be an unchanged side considering the performance against Celta, with Carlos Vicente, Jon Guridi and Giuliano Simeone set to operate in support of lone striker Kike Garcia.
Valencia possible starting lineup:
Domenech; Correia, Mosquera, Gasiorowski, Vazquez; Gonzalez, Pepelu, Guillamon, Guerra; Almeida, Duro
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Sivera; Gorosabel, Tenaglia, Marin, J Lopez; Benavidez, Blanco; Vicente, Guridi, Simeone; Kike
We say: Valencia 2-0 Alaves
Valencia are in need of a win this weekend after two disappointing results, but Alaves are capable of making this a tricky match. That said, we are expecting Los Che to get the job done in front of their own fans, with Hugo Duro potentially adding to the 13 league goals that he has managed this term.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
