Both Valencia and Celta Vigo will be bidding to bounce back from defeats when they continue their respective La Liga campaigns with a clash at Mestalla on Saturday evening.
The home side, who are 12th in the table, will enter the contest off the back of a 2-1 loss at Rayo Vallecano, while 10th-placed Celta suffered a 4-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid last time out.
Match preview
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Valencia have won two and lost three of their five La Liga matches this season, with six points leaving them in 12th position in the table heading into the next set of fixtures in Spain's top flight.
Los Che, who are six-time Spanish champions, are some way from the team that were regulars in the top four, having finished ninth, 13th and ninth in their last three campaigns at this level of football.
The early signs suggest that Gennaro Gattuso's side will struggle to launch a European challenge this season, with consistency being an issue in the opening weeks of the campaign.
Valencia started 2022-23 with a 1-0 victory over Girona but then lost their next two against Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid, with both matches finishing 1-0 to the opposition.
Los Che were 5-1 winners over Getafe on September 4 in comfortably their best performance of the campaign, but they could not build on the victory, suffering a 2-1 defeat at Rayo last time out, with the hosts leading 2-0 until the latter stages, when Mouctar Diakhaby netted a consolation for Gattuso's team.
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Celta, meanwhile, are 10th in the table with seven points to show from their five matches, and the Sky Blues will be looking to improve on last season's 11th-place finish in Spain's top flight.
Eduardo Coudet's side started their campaign with a 2-2 draw against Espanyol before suffering a 4-1 home defeat to the champions Real Madrid one week later.
Celta then managed to record back-to-back victories over Girona and Cadiz, scoring four times in the process and keeping two clean sheets, but they lost 4-1 to Atletico in their last match on September 10.
The Vigo-based outfit could battle the likes of Valencia for a spot in the top half of the table this season, but they have found it difficult against Los Che in recent matches, losing the last three games between the sides.
Celta have only actually won one of their last five La Liga matches against Valencia, suffering four defeats in the process, with the former Spanish champions managing to do the double over the Sky Blues last season, including a 2-0 success at Mestalla.
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Team News
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Valencia will again be missing long-term absentee Jaume Domenech, but the home side are otherwise in good shape, with Ilaix Moriba available following a suspension.
Gattuso could make a change in the final third following the defeat to Rayo, with Justin Kluivert potentially coming in for Hugo Duro, while Marcos Andre is also pushing for a start.
Moriba's availability could lead to Nico Gonzalez dropping out of the midfield, but Yunus Musah, Samuel Lino and Samu Castillejo should all retain their spots in the first XI for Valencia.
As for Celta, Oscar Rodriguez and Goncalo Paciencia were absent against Atletico last time out and that will again be the case for this weekend's match.
The Sky Blues have no fresh fitness issues, but there could be a change in midfield, with Gabri Veiga, who scored off the bench against Diego Simeone's side, coming in for Carles Perez.
Head coach Coudet is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack, though, with the likes of Fran Beltran, Renato Tapia and Jorgen Strand Larsen set to retain their spots in the side.
Iago Aspas has scored five league goals this season, and the 35-year-old will again lead the Celta attack.
Valencia possible starting lineup:
Mamardashvili; Correia, Paulista, Diakhaby, Gaya; Guillamon, Moriba; Castillejo, Musah, Lino; Kluivert
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Marchesin; Mallo, Aidoo, Nunez, Galan; Tapia, Veiga, Beltran, Cervi; Aspas, Larsen
We say: Valencia 1-1 Celta Vigo
There has not been a La Liga draw between these two sides since September 2018, but we just have a feeling that the points will be shared here. Both managers will be slightly cautious considering their results last time out, and a tense affair at Mestalla could potentially finish 1-1.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
