Preview: Cartagena vs Valencia - prediction, team news, lineups

With a place in the last 32 of this season's Copa del Rey on the line, La Liga outfit Valencia will head to Estadio Municipal Cartagonova to face off against Cartagena on Thursday night.

The teams booked their third-round tickets in highly contrasting fashions as the hosts narrowly edged out Puente Genil by a lone goal, four fewer goals than the visitors scored en route to a 5-0 demolition of Maracena.

Match preview

Valencia's emphatic victory over lower-league Maracena in their first cup assignment of the season came at a much-needed time for Los Che, who had gone five games without a win before that.

Still, Carlos Corberan's men have won just one of their next four outings, albeit now unbeaten in three games off the back of a 1-1 draw against Rayo Vallecano on Monday.

Diego Lopez's 64th-minute strike cancelled out Nobel Mendy's opener to force a share of the spoils at Estadio de Vallecas, where Valencia's wait for a first away league victory of the season continued.

Winning just once on the road across all competitions since May 3, Los Murcielagos will be hoping their dominance over Cartagena overshadows their recent away struggles to avoid losing their 100% record in this fixture with four wins from four.

Valencia's shaky start to proceedings this term currently has them 15th in the La Liga table, just two points clear of the drop zone, and with tough assignments against Sevilla and Atletico Madrid to come, Thursday's visitors could really do with a return to winning ways.

Finishing bottom of the Segunda Division and a whopping 28 points adrift of safety, Cartagena endured a disappointing 2024-25 campaign at the end of which relegation to the Primera Federacion followed.

Securing an immediate return to the second tier of Spanish football would have been earmarked as the target for Javier Rey's men, and they have made a bright start on that front, having picked up 23 points to sit fourth in the standings, guaranteeing them a place in the promotion playoffs as things stand.

Despite a 1-0 triumph over Betis Deportivo in their most recent outing, La Cebra's results have seen a mini downward spiral lately, with just two wins from their last five matches after going unbeaten in nine of their opening 10 games.

This run included a Copa del Rey second-round triumph over Puente Genil thanks to Kevin Sanchez's strike three minutes before the hour mark in a drab affair at Campo de Futbol Manuel Polinario towards the back end of October.

Having seen their Spanish Cup campaign come to an end at the hands of La Liga opponents in each of the last four years, half of which Thursday's visitors have been responsible for, the hosts have it all to do in their quest to upset the odds.

Cartagena Copa del Rey form:

Cartagena form (all competitions):

Valencia Copa del Rey form:

Valencia (all competitions):

Team News

After serving a one-game suspension, Kevin Sanchez returned to action for Cartagena over the weekend and is expected to take to the field on Thursday.

Alfredo Ortuno was on target for the home side in the last edition of this fixture last January, making the 34-year-old forward one to keep an eye on.

Since joining Valencia from Leeds United, Largie Ramazani has barely had a sniff at first-team action, with just over 90 minutes of play under his belt as he continues to nurse a muscle injury.

Mouctar Diakhaby is another guaranteed absentee for the away side due to a hamstring problem he picked up against Girona back in October.

Arnaut Danjuma and Diego Lopez came off the bench to record a goal and an assist apiece in the win over Maracena, and both men will be pushing for a start here.

Cartagena possible starting lineup:

Garcia; Jimenez, Baz, Velez, Perejon; Calderon, Romo, Alcaniz, Sanchez; Ortuno, Chuca

Valencia possible starting lineup:

Dimitrievski; Comert, Olmo, Iranzo; Vazquez, Gerra, Santamaria, Otorbi, Almeida, Duro, Danjuma

We say: Cartagena 1-3 Valencia

Valencia's league deficiencies are clear for everyone to see, but Corberan's side will head into Thursday's clash with the onus firmly on them to seize the initiative.

This season's Copa del Rey has already produced some huge upsets, and Cartagena will be hopeful of pulling the rabbit out of the hat.

That said, we are anticipating a routine win for the away side when all is said and done.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.