Valencia will be looking to stretch their unbeaten run in La Liga to six matches when they continue their 2022-23 campaign at home to Mallorca on Saturday evening.
Los Che are currently eighth in Spain's top flight, boasting 15 points from their opening 10 matches, while Mallorca sit 15th, having collected nine points from their first 10 games of the season.
Match preview
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Valencia's solid start to the campaign continued on Tuesday evening when they played out a 1-1 draw with Sevilla, with the result leaving them in eighth position in the table on 15 points.
Edinson Cavani sent Los Che ahead in the sixth minute of the contest, but the points were shared at Estadio Ramon, with Erik Lamela netting the equaliser in the 86th minute.
Gennaro Gattuso's side are unbeaten in Spain's top flight since September 10, beating Celta Vigo and Osasuna, in addition to drawing with Espanyol, Elche and Sevilla in their last five matches.
Valencia have a tough run of games before the season breaks for the World Cup, with their three after this one coming against Barcelona, Real Sociedad and Real Betis, which perhaps makes this game even more important.
Los Che recorded a 1-0 victory over Mallorca when the two sides last locked horns at Visit Mallorca Stadium in February, but it finished 2-2 in the corresponding game last season at Mestalla.
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Mallorca finished 16th in La Liga last season after earning promotion from the Segunda Division, and they are bidding to make it back-to-back campaigns at this level for the first time since 2013.
The Pirates have a record of two wins, three draws and five defeats from their 10 league matches this term, which has left them in 15th position in the table on nine points.
Mallorca will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 defeat at Real Sociedad on Wednesday, and they have not actually been victorious in the league since the middle of September against Almeria.
Javier Aguirre's side have picked up just one point from their last four games, which has included 1-0 defeats to Barcelona, Sevilla and Real Sociedad, and they will be slightly wary of their position in the table ahead of the upcoming games with Valencia, Espanyol, Villarreal and Atletico Madrid.
Mallorca's last victory over Valencia was a 4-1 success in January 2020, but it is 12 years since they last overcame Los Che at Mestalla, which is an indication of the size of their task in this match.
Team News
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Valencia will again be missing Samu Castillejo and Jaume Domenech on Saturday through injury, but Los Che have no fitness doubts ahead of this contest.
Cavani scored his third goal for the club against Sevilla last time out, and the experienced forward is again set to lead the line for Los Che this weekend.
Head coach Gattuso is likely to make a couple of changes to the side that started against Sevilla, though, with Justin Kluivert and Andre Almeida in line to return to the XI here.
As for Mallorca, Tino Kadewere and Dominik Greif remain on the sidelines through injury, but Vedat Muriqi is available again after serving a suspension against Real Sociedad.
Muriqi has scored four league goals this season and is set to lead the line, with head coach Aguirre potentially keeping a back five in place for the clash at Mestalla.
Lee Kang-in is pushing for a return in a wide area, but Dani Rodriguez and Amath Ndiaye should both keep their spots, while Rodrigo Battaglia is set to again feature in central midfield.
Valencia possible starting lineup:
Mamardashvili; Foulquier, Correia, Diakhaby, Comert, Gaya; Musah, Guillamon, Almeida, Kluivert; Cavani
Mallorca possible starting lineup:
Rajkovic; Gonzalez, Russo, Raillo, Nastasic, Maffeo; D Rodriguez, Battaglia, Ruiz, Ndiaye; Muriqi
We say: Valencia 2-1 Mallorca
Valencia have drawn three of their last four matches in the league, while Mallorca have lost three of their last four, so neither side are winning too much at the moment. Los Che will be the favourites on home soil, though, and we are backing them to record a narrow victory on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
