Valencia will hope to utilise home advantage when they welcome fellow La Liga strugglers Almeria to the Mestalla on Monday.
Los Che ended last term in a disappointing ninth place, 11 points shy of qualification for the Europa Conference League and 22 adrift of securing a Champions League berth.
But few would have predicted things would get even worse this campaign and they head into Monday’s game with relegation on their minds, sitting just two points clear of the drop zone after losing back-to-back games.
Almeria are next on the agenda for Valencia as the newly-promoted side continue to find it difficult to adapt to life in the Spanish top-flight.
They are one point and two places below 13th-placed Valencia and have lost four of their last five visits to the Mestalla.
Valencia vs Almeria Betting Tips
Team news
Forward Samu Castillejo has missed Valencia’s last two games with a wrist injury and is set to remain on the sidelines on Monday.
Midfielder Nico Gonzalez is also unavailable as he continues his recovery from a foot issue, while goalkeeper Jaume Domenech is a long-term absentee with a knee injury.
Defensive duo Thierry Correia and Mouctar Diakhaby both sat out the Copa del Rey win over Sporting Gijon and will need to be assessed.
Almeria boss Rubi hasn’t reported any new injuries, but Brazilian defender Kaiky has been ruled out with a knock.
Valencia to win to nil @ 8/5
This clash offers Valencia a huge opportunity to get back on the winning path after successive defeats in the league against Villarreal and Cadiz.
Their last victory came back on 10th November when they ran out 3-0 winners at home to sixth-placed Real Betis.
That was one of just three clean sheets picked up by Gennaro Gattuso’s side this term and each of those have come at the Mestalla.
A fourth win to nil looks highly likely in this clash when considering Almeria’s struggles on the road. They have the worst away record in the division, picking up just two points and scoring only four times across eight fixtures.
Valencia to win and Edinson Cavani to score anytime @ 2/1 – #PickYourPunt
With Almeria not showing any signs of putting up a fight away from the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterraneos, we’ve picked Valencia to win as one of the legs in our #PickYourPunt.
Frontman Edinson Cavani is likely to be key to Los Che’s hopes of getting over the line, both in this clash and potentially in steering clearing of relegation, so the second leg requires the Uruguayan to score at anytime.
He bagged twice in the Copa del Rey triumph over Gijon last time out and has registered seven times in his last eight appearances across all competitions.
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