Unfortunately I've been sick this week and could not write about Valencia's last match against Sevilla FC, a big match for us that ended up in a 1-1 draw. Solid result for Valencia CF to come back after the trashing at the hands of Real Madrid and losing to Espanyol.
Tomorrow night we have an even bigger match against Atletico Madrid in what is going to be an exciting and interesting match to watch. I do plan on watching the match and writing a report on it.
Atletico Madrid had a small setback in their last match against Villarreal CF as the match ended in a draw, though they've not looked as strong and as good this season as the previous ones, so maybe not really a surprise that Villarreal CF were able to get a draw out of the game. In fact it is only Real Madrid and Sevilla FC this season who are the outstanding performers with Real Madrid at 49 points and Sevilla closely behind at 45 points. The fact that Valencia CF was able to draw against a strong Sevilla side means that we are in a good position to challenge Atletico Madrid as their style of football is a similar to ours with a more defensive mindset and reliance on counter attacks to score goals.
Last time these two clubs met it was a very exciting finish to the match in which Valencia CF managed to salvage a draw after being down 3-1 with basically just minutes on the clock. Then in the last minutes of the match Valencia CF was able to equalize the match and salvage a point from what seemed to be a lost match for most of the game.
Even though the previous match left a good feeling towards the end and we managed to get a point we were lost for most of the match and if someone was to bet me a million dollars for a hundred that Valencia CF would equalize within two minutes in extra time I wouldn't have taken it. We rode our luck and saved a point, but tomorrow the team needs to do much better if we are to get a good result, we can not rely on a crazy 10 minutes and tons of luck to win tomorrow.
Good news for tomorrow is that Carlos Soler is fit for the match and is likely to start the match, though bad news is that Jasper Cillessen has a serious injury and is likely to be out for a few weeks, with Jose Gaya also unavailable for this match as he is suspended due to the red card he received in the last match, but Jaume has done a really good job in the cup and seems to be ready to effectively and securely replace Cillessen.
Last match against Sevilla FC Jose Bordalas decided to field 7 defensive players in the starting 11, with just 3 attacking player, two of whom played directly in attack. Will he choose a similar lineup against Atletico Madrid? Its hard to say, but it wouldn't surprise me as there are very few options in the midfield and none have proven great so far. Our midfield has been a cause of worry throughout this whole season and Bordalas's few requests for reinforcements have been for the midfield and defense. So far Valencia CF have only sold players and have yet to bring in any players, and with Wass being left out of the squad and likely to sit out the rest of the 6 months he has with Valencia CF we are severely short staffed.
Valencia CF Squad: Jaume, Correia, Diakhaby, Alderete, Lato; Helder Costa, Hugo, Soler, Yunus, Maxi; Guedes
Winning Probability: Atletico Madrid 35% Draw 40% Valencia CF 25%
Result Prediction: Really hard match to predict, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say a draw. Neither team is playing particularly well and while Atletico Madrid are a small favorite I think Valencia CF has enough capability to get a draw in this match. Atletico Madrid 1-1 Valencia CF my final prediction.