Valencia - Bilbao match thread

After a couple of defeats it's a crunch game today. The early results raised hopes that perhaps, just maybe, we'd be able to mount a top four challenge this season but the injuries to Gaya and Soler (and not to forget Cheryshev and Thierry who had good starts to the season) exposed the weaknesses and lack of squad depth. Prior to the season none of us seriously expected top four and this week's results confirmed we don't have the players for now to go up against them. However, European places remain a possibility. For those we need to continue what we're doing: beat the other teams. Our rivals for 5th to 7th are probably Villarreal, Sociedad, Betis and Bilbao, not to mention wild cards like Rayo and Mallorca. It's Bilbao we face today and that means a reunion with our old coach Marcelino in front of a Mestalla crowd for the first time since he was idiotically sacked in 2019. 

Bordalas has only made two changes and neither of them is a surprise. After Mamardashvili's recent errors, Cillessen starts for the first time this season. I guess part of the coach would have been tempted to keep faith with Giorgi but if he'd fumbled again it would not have looked good. The other change sees Musah start for the first time instead of Jason. No one will complain about that. It's hard to predict this one, but I'm hoping for a one goal win.

FIRST HALF
Half way through the first period. We've looked shaky. Lato has been the biggest problem, with some iffy decisions, but Cillessen so far hasn't done himself any favours. He hasn't come to claim balls that he should. Due to that, Bilbao look to me the more likely to score. We've had some possession around their area but without creating much. A shot from Musah which was going wide and was saved by the keeper was as good as it got. 

At the break, even overall, though I think we've struggled in several areas. We haven't created clear chances, have been overrun in midfield at times and struggled in defence especially against the pace of Inaki Williams. 0-0 but I'm hoping for a better performance in the second half.

SECOND HALF
Minute 64 and it's got a bit scrappy. Neither side really creating much. It's been a fairly dull stalemate overall, if we're honest.

Minute 66, for goodness' sake another injury. Hugo Duro, who's been one of the better players today pulls up. Marcos Andre and Jesus Vazquez will come on. We hit the post earlier through Wass but it's still Bilbao who look more likely to get a goal here. Hold up, they just have. That's been coming. 0-1. I was just about to type before the goal that our marking has sucked and we saw it there.

70: Unlucky for Marcos Andre who tried to lob the keeper but it's just over.

75: cooling break. We look flat and out of ideas here, restricted to mostly tame shots from distance which Unai Simon has easily dealt with. Without Soler the creativity just isn't there.

81: bad to worse. Second yellow for Maxi after an idiotic pull on a Bilbao player who was nowhere near goal. The first yellow card on him was harsh it has to be said, but risking a pull when you're on a yellow is stupid. Also looks like Musah may have got injured. Our season unravelling bit by bit. Jason on for Musah, Vallejo for Wass.

90: seven minutes added on but right now, it looks like they could add on seventy minutes and we still wouldn't score, we've created next to nothing this game. Crossing from Foulquier and Jason has been very poor.

94: MARCOS ANDRE! I think it was Guillamon who chipped it over, Guedes sent it back across and Andre finished well.

95: Super save from Cillessen. We need to focus here.

FINAL: 1-1 a tough game and in the end given how we fell behind and ended with ten men, a point rescued. Losing three on the trot would have set alarm bells ringing but we saved it. The performance was still uninspiring and hopefully we can do better next game in Cadiz. (I'll be unavailable for that, by the way, so someone else will have to do the write-up.) The main lesson this week is that this team is a work in progress and we're lacking in decent replacements. I hope there'll be patience with the coach and the squad as the Mestalla public return.

Sevilla vs Valencia match thread

After a relatively easy run of fixtures, we entered our difficult period this week, falling at the first hurdle with a loss against Real Madrid. Despite the result, the performance was encouraging though soured both by the manner of defeat and a growing injury list. Gaya is expected to be out for 3-4 weeks, Thierry about 3 and Soler 2-3 weeks. 

Today's opponents Sevilla are, of course, the main rivals we need to overcome if we have any dreams of top four. They've had a reasonable enough start: a 3-0 home win over Rayo, win at Getafe and draws at Sociedad and Elche. All in all, I'm hoping for a win, but would gladly settle for a draw from this game.

 

Bordalas, as ever, has gone with continuity in the line up. The major surprise is Jason starting on the right instead of Musah, who had a good game last time. Helder Costa or Racic starting in the middle with Wass on the right were other options. Obviously, given Jason's underwhelming performances previously, this is a bit of a mystifying decision, so we can only hope the coach has got it right.

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I think I'll leave you all to comment on this. 15 minutes in and this is one of the worst performances in a while. The first goal was bad enough: awful decision by Wass trying an over-ambitious crossfield ball which got easily intercepted. The midfield and defence were all over the place and Mamardashvili stood there like a statue as it went in. The second was much worse, what on earth was the goalkeeper doing, just standing there as it bounced over his head. As I was typing this, Sevilla scored a third, didn't see it due to writing this. The goal on twitter also looks bad, Mamardashvili getting lobbed like an amateur. His honeymoon and Bordalas' is finished. Over and out from me.

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Post-match comments: switched off just before the third goal, so based on quick highlights and match reports: awful from Mamardashvili, Alderete, Lato, Jason (no surprise) and Maxi. Hugo Guillamon also said to be weak. Wass dubious. Well taken goal for the second game in a row by Hugo Duro. Effort at least from Guedes. 

After the positive emotions generated by the decent start, we've come crashing down to reality in the last 2 games. The lesson, as we saw last season, is that while our main XI is good enough, there's a significant drop in quality once we get to replacements, leaving us very vulnerable to injuries. I wouldn't give up on Mamardashvili, who does show promise, but I think a spell gaining experience with the reserves would quicken his adaptation to Spain. Right now he looks like he's been promoted too quickly. It's hard to see how Bordalas can persist with him now after mistakes 3 games in a row and with Cillessen available. Some of the selections also look dubious: Jason? What does Maxi have to do to be benched? Why don't players like Musah, Racic and Vallejo feature more? A reality check this week for sure.

Valencia CF vs Real Madrid Match Preview

Valencia CF has had a great start to the season with the expectations of the team being very low and basically finishing in the top 10 side of the table though of as success for this season. Now that the team has had a very impressive start to the season the goal has shifted a little bit, with the possibility of playing European football being a real possibility. I think its still highly unlikely for Valencia CF to end up in the top 4 positions to play Champions league football, but top 6 positions seems plausible. 

Tomorrow will be a big test for Valencia CF as they are going to welcome Real Madrid at the Mestalla. The tickets and seats for this match have been increased to I believe 29.000 and the Mestalla will be half full. These past few seasons we've done well against the big clubs like Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, so that doesn't really show anything, because we've struggled against all other clubs, so even if we lose to Real Madrid tomorrow it won't be a big deal, as the key will be winning against the smaller clubs and drawing with our direct rivals like Sevilla, Getafe CF and Villarreal CF. 

Real Madrid had a mid week match against Inter, one which they just barely won, but considering their standard starting eleven played the whole match and only 3 substitutions were made, I'm hoping that they are a little bit tired from that match and we can possibly use that to our advantage, especially with Bordalas as the coach who is very demanding in a physical sense, so hopefully he'll demand extra physicality in this match and for our players to press high and hard. 

I think that is our best chance to win, press high and hard, abuse the fact that they played a match in mid week and force their players to tire sooner, allowing us to dominate more of the play and create chances. Another key would be to not make any mistakes in the back and close down Real Madrid players really quickly before they are able to create any dangerous chances. This is also not the Real Madrid of 3-4 years ago, they are much weaker and do not posses the same level of talent. Some of their key players are also in an advanced age so we are not dealing with prime time Real Madrid, we are dealing with a Madrid side that is on the end years of their success. While Valencia CF also has a lot of shortcomings and we are still questionable in attack, Maxi Gomez is still a big question mark and our midfield can still quite often cede control of the ball for much of the match, we are better prepared physically this season, we have some of the fastest players in the league and our defense this season seems to be performing much better which will be crucial to getting good results.

Valencia CF vs CD Alaves Match Preview

Valencia

CD Alaves

Date 2021-08-27 22:15 CET

Valencia CF is coming to this match after a hard fought draw with Granada CF, but they are going to be looking to improve upon last match and beat Deportivo Alaves at the Mestalla. Gaining 3 points tonight will be crucial and it will setup Valencia CF for a good season, anything other than that and its going to foreshadow a bland and difficult season with almost no chance of European football.

Valencia CF got a boost in attack as well, acquiring Marcos Andre from Valladolid for 9 million euros and 10% of any future sale of the player. The players salary is also on the high side of 2 million euros per season with a contract length of 5 years. 

Now that the 3rd foreign slot has been captured, Valencia CF is looking to sell Kang-In Lee, but the player has rejected all offers coming his way. Valencia CF also ignored a lot of offers earlier in the transfer window for him as they were significantly lower than his evaluation, but with recent events unfolding the way they are, the club are forced to sell the player at any cost. Just more Lim mismanagement, buy very high, sell very low and make a loss on every transfer. 

Deportivo Alaves are coming to this match with two loses from their opening two matches and will be looking to improve upon their recent results and finally acquire at least a point to their name. Valencia CF on the other hand will be looking to win this match and continue in good form, anything other than that and its the mediocre team of last season once again upon us. Hopefully this is not the same team, hopefully the new coach has instilled more confidence in the players and with better tactics hopefully we can win.

Granada CF vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Granada

Valencia

Date 2021-08-21 19:30 CET

Valencia CF started its first 2021/22 season match with a hard fought victory against none other than Valencia's coach Jose Bordalas former team Getafe CF. In typical Valencia CF fashion we had to make it hard on ourselves and Hugo got sent off for a dangerous play very early in the match, forcing Valencia CF to play with 10 players for over 80 minutes. 

Bordalas methods must have worked as Valencia CF was able to hold on to its small lead until the end and even had several chances on the counter attack to improve its score, though unfortunately not all of our chances were converted, but that would have been wanting too much. Overall the play was quite solid considering we were one player down and defensively the team was great. In the match report I asked if we are actually going to have trouble beating smaller and weaker teams who sit back and defend, taking away Valencia's style of predominantly defending and then hitting on the counter. Can Valencia CF become an attacking team when playing weaker opponents and break their defenses? 

Granada CF is going to be that test, can Valencia CF beat a much weaker opponent and how will our play look like? Will Valencia CF look like the weaker team and defend even against weaker opponents and try and hit them on the counter as well or will the team become more active and try to outplay them and break their defense? 

Valencia CF vs Getafe CF Match Preview

Valencia

Getafe

Date 2021-08-13 21:00 CET

The new 2021/22 season is finally upon us, Valencia CF has so far managed to do two transfers, bringing in Jose Bordalas our new coach and Omar Alderete our new central defender. In terms of where the team stands and compares to the other teams in La Liga its unclear. Valencia CF played 7 preseason friendly matches, won 4 of them and lost 3 of them. The big win was over AC Milan of course for the Orange trohpy, Valencia CF managed to draw with AC Milan and then beat them at penalties, but then the club lost the next match against Brentford FC, though most of that squad was reserves and youth players, but still even with some of the first team starters coming on the game didn't change for the better for Valencia CF.

So tonight's match against Getafe CF is going to be our real test and a very telling one, because as you know Bordalas left Getafe CF to join Valencia CF and it would be interesting to see where the two clubs are with their new coaches and how much of a difference that has made! Valencia CF has pretty much the same squad as last season with just one addition, so any change in play is purely down to the coach. 

I'm cautiously optimistic about this season as we've seen some progress in the friendly matches, the players seem to have a higher fighting spirit and want to prove themselves, but we'll see if that translates into official matches. I still think our attack might struggle as I'm not sure that Maxi Gomez is going to be able to lead the attack, I wish Bordalas was some magician able to find the right concoction of spell and make him play better, but he isn't and I don't see Maxi scoring 10+ goals for us. Good thing is that Valencia CF is still chasing Marcos Andre and we might just get him for 5 million euros, though he isn't some proven goalscorer either, he'd just be an option for the attack if things don't turn out well with Maxi Gomez. 

Valencia CF Squad: Mamardashvili, Paulista, Alderete, Hugo; Correia, Soler, Cheryshev, Gaya; Jason, Maxi, Guedes

Winning Probability: Valencia CF 50%, Draw 20% Getafe CF 30%

Result Prediction: Valencia CF 1-0 Getafe CF

Don't know what to expect and that is what is exciting about this match, its going to be a complete unknown and we'll have to wait  and see how the team does. With both teams focused on defending well I expect a tighter match with little to no goals, I think and hope that Valencia CF manages to edge this one by one goal difference

SD Huesca vs Valencia CF Match Preview

SD Huesca

Valencia CF

Date 2021-05-22 18:00 CET

Final match of the season is upon us, Valencia CF has given us some good games at the very end to make the season a bit more positive after the uncertainty of relegation and just all round terrible play and poor leadership by the management and Lim at the helm.

Voro has made this team a lot more competitive, a lot more efficient and generally a pleasant team to watch, where you aren't biting your nails every time the opposition gets the ball, where you wonder who will make the next blunder, who will screw up next and how will Valencia CF throw this game!

With the match against SD Huesca being the last I think Voro is going to give some of the less used players some time, I think this is probably going to be the biggest change in starting lineup by Voro and probably most of the season with chances being given to Yunus, Vallejo, Jason, Jaume and probably even Oliva being given some minutes.

Valencia CF vs SD Eibar Match Preview

Valencia CF

SD Eibar

Date 2021-05-16 18:30 CET

Valencia CF is going to welcome SD Eibar the last placed team on the table at the Mestalla in what is going to be a relegation contenders battle. Yeah Valencia CF is technically safe from relegation at this point, but the team still has to prove that it is a level above these teams and the next two matches are a chance to prove that.

Even though Valencia CF lost last match against Sevilla FC the team played some really good football, defending very well and it was just one individual mistake that allowed for the goal to happen, with Ferro losing his mark and allowing him to setup and score the goal. Considering this was his first match in a very long time and against a very solid Sevilla side that is competing for the title this season it was an otherwise good performance except for that 1 mistake. Valencia CF also had chances to score, but none of the chances were converted into goals.

Sevilla FC vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Sevilla FC

Valencia CF

Date 2021-05-12 19:00 CET

Voro's first game in charge of Valencia CF was a huge success, he's always brought in a temporary boost to the team and done well in his short coaching stints. While some people may want to see him take a permanent coaching role, he's distanced himself from such an option, saying that his mandate is 4 matches and that's it. After all he is not a coach, he's never really dabbled in it other than when he's had to lead the team when called upon. 

Valencia CF match against Real Valladolid was complex, even though the score would make it seem like it was an easy win for the team, it really wasn't. In fact I'd say in the first 30 minutes of the match Real Valladolid were the better team, not by much, but had more ball possession, had more chances and were pushing for a goal with commitment and drive. In fact in the match report when I describe the match I said that VCF has to improve or even a draw would be a hard result to obtain. 

Thankfully Maxi Gomez decided to show up, one of the very rare things this season and scored two goals from two chances to put Valencia CF in a comfortable position. Both teams had chances, though again in a long time I think our defense did quite good, even Diakhaby who's been very error prone had a good game and did not make even one mistake. 

Valencia CF vs Real Valladolid Match Preview

Valencia CF

Real Valladolid

Date 2021-05-09 16:15 GMT+1

What an eventful week it has been for Valencia CF. It started off with the loss at home to FC Barcelona and the consequential sacking of Javi Gracia who as I've reported had been on this ice and was going to be sacked in the summer to avoid paying him damages, but with the club so close to relegation he was sacked with just 4 matches to go and Voro was put in charge of the team. This is Voro's 7th takeover of the team, 5 of which are under Peter Lim's era, so a defeating number right there.

Today as I'm writing this match preview there is a huge protest going on in Valencia against Peter Lim and his company Meriton, this isn't the first protest that has happened against Lim's leadership of the club and it certainly won't be the last. With Lim's brazen and stupid character he won't sell the club and I'm afraid with more of his terrible leadership people will do more to force him to leave and this includes not buying any of the merch, not buying season tickets, not even buying individual match tickets, all in order to force Peter Lim out. The bad things is that in the process of trying to remove Lim, its the club itself that is being hurt. 

I think the best decision would be to form an investment group by the fans, everyone chips in $20 or $40 or $100 or even $500 if they have, and we are at the very least 200k fans around the world. I know a lot of inactive fans who would activate if they have the chance to invest in Valencia CF and oust Peter Lim as a consequence! So if say 100k people all chip in on average $40 dollars and it gets coupled with few bigger investors we could be seeing a real takeover possibility and if Lim doesn't want to sell, then force him through the government to sell. Fine and tax his company to hell, fine him tens of million of euros for the unfinished Mestalla construction, sue his company in court and demand even more, work the the banks to force a payout on all of the clubs loans, force his company Meriton be have to pay tens and tens of millions and go into a huge loss if he wants to continue owning Valencia CF. 

Valencia CF vs FC Barcelona Match Preview

Valencia CF

FC Barcelona

Date 2021-05-02 21:00 GMT+1

Valencia CF is facing FC Barcelona this Sunday in what has the potential to be a very exciting match. Valencia CF desperately need the three points to avoid relegation, while FC Barcelona desperately need the three points to stay in the title race. Historically FC Barcelona have done very well against Valencia CF in the Mestalla, but Valencia CF have been a tricky opponent in recent years, winning at times when no one though possible, ruining Barca's plans.

FC Barcelona had a home match in midweek against Granada CF in which they lost 2-1, which shows that there are weaknesses in their play and they are not so unbeatable. Most of their top players featured in that match as well, so they are likely going to be slightly tired, though considering most of their players have been playing a very dense week for years, they are used to it, but still I'd give slight fitness advantage to Valencia CF, though that hasn't helped us at all this season judging by our results. 

Valencia's coach Javi Gracia days at the club are numbered, once the season is over he is going to be sacked and a search for a new coach will begin. There have been a lot of rumors about possible replacements, from old school Claudio Ranieri to Jose Mourinho and recently Roberto Moreno being linked to Valencia CF. Can Javi Gracia leave on a positive note though? No coach wants to leave with terrible results, their career can suffer so Javi Gracia has to work his magic, he needs to pull a rabbit our of a hat, if not I doubt any serious team would want to hire him for the foreseeable future! 

Valencia CF vs Deportivo Alaves Match Preview

Valencia

CD Alaves

Date 2021-04-24 GMT+1 18:30

Valencia CF suffered an embarrassing loss in midweek against an Osasuna side that made us look like Division 2 team. Sure Valencia CF had slightly more possession and through Guedes we mustered up several chances, but Osasuna played like a team, they defended all together and did it really well and move up the field together. 

The two goals Osasuna scored in the first half were the usual blunders that Valencia CF players do in defense, or the minimal pressure they do when they track a player. Valencia CF as usual went down 1-0, then bounced back with a goal and again through a defensive blunder gave away Osasuna a second goal. 

You just can't win games when opponents don't even have to outplay you to score, when you just give them goals for free, that is what is happening every match with Valencia CF, our players are giving away goals for free. Doesn't matter that we score more than Osasuna, doesn't matter that we have more ball possession than Osasuna, doesn't matter if we have more overall shots, etc... Osasuna doesn't gift their opponents free goals that they can't overcome later and lose the matches. 

Osasuna vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Osasuna

Valencia

Date 2021-04-21 GMT+1 19:00

Valencia CF managed to break the away curse last match against Real Betis, managing a 2-2 draw, and now they have a chance to  get a win away from home. During the last match there were several players who got injured, so Correia will be out for a month, for him this season has basically ended, while Soler is doubtful and will likely not feature for this match.

Osasuna and Valencia CF are fighting for the same spots on the table, both teams have similar amount of points and if Valencia CF win today it would jump over Osasuna, anything else and we fall further behind. A win against Osasuna would actually put us temporarily in 9/10th place.

Osasuna are a team that doesn't score too many goals, but they are also solid defensively and they rely on scoring a goal and then defending their lead for most of the matches, so we are going to see them attacking, especially at home, but I actually expect a bit more counter attacks, rather than direct attacks, while they try and don't concede. 

Real Betis vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Real Betis

Valencia

Date 2021-04-18 18:30 GMT+1

Valencia CF had an unusual and frustrating game last weekend with the team going down 2-0 in the first half against Real Sociedad, with Soler missing a penalty in the middle of the first half to put Valencia CF up, then Real Sociedad punishing Valencia CF twice, due to some poor defending and passing by Valencia players. 

With the way Valencia CF played it didn't seem like there is a chance to comebak at all, in fact with the silly mistakes players were making in the back it was a scare if we'd concede more goals and be embraced by Real Sociedad. Fortunately luck was on Valencia's side and the referee awarded Valencia CF another penalty, it was a soft penalty, the referee might have not given it and no one would have though anything of it, but as it so happen he did give the penalty and that time Daniel Wass was precise from the penalty spot. I was thinking 'okay we got one back, but its 1 goal from two penalties, how can we score from play' and then the unexpected happened, Gabriel Paulista who was at fault for the second goal scored the equalizer for Valencia CF with a powerful header. 

Valencia CF vs Real Sociedad Match Preview

Valencia CF

Real Sociedad

Date 2021-04-11 15:15

Valencia CF had a huge opportunity to improve its standing and move up the table against Cadiz last week as the team was playing well coming into that match and was against a what should have been a weaker opponent, but they failed to beat them, and in fact Valencia CF lost to them in such a disappointing fashion, even a draw would have been fine at that point, but we lost.

In fact the biggest thing to come out of that match was an alleged racist incident, but the Spanish league did not found any evidence about that either, so Valencia CF has nothing to show for from that match. In fact I'd say racists are now emboldened after all of that, as they know they can discreetly say racist things and they'll even be protected as long as there is no evidence. 

Cadiz CF vs Valencia CF Match Preview

 Cadiz CF             April 4, 18:30 PM            Valencia CF 

After last matchday there was a two week break in club football as world cup qualifications were under way with Valencia CF having 6 players who went on represent their countries. I reported on those players and their performances in this article so you can go on there and read more about how our players did.

I don't know if this break would help the team or not, because I thought we were in good form and really liked the way Valencia CF played against Granada, so I'm afraid this two week pause might have stunted that form. We also had Cillessen get injured so a blow  to our squad, but Jaume has been fairly decent and against Cadiz I'm not too worried about the goalkeeping position. 

Valencia CF vs Granada CF Match Preview

La Liga

Valencia CF

Mar 21, 4:15 PM

Granada CF

Its been two very interesting weeks as Valencia CF have gone through a possible acquisition by a prince, to some interesting news about the future of the coach Javi Gracia and several players, including Gonaco Guedes and others. While things have been quite interesting off the pitch and finally we have some excitement, its been the opposite on the pitch. Valencia CF have continued with the bad results and the last match Valencia CF lost to a city rival which they've beaten almost exclusively the past 3-4 years! That just shows the decline Valencia CF has had in the past two years, ever since the sacking of Marcelino.

What is more there was no positives to take from last match, nor did I envision any of our players that were out of the squad for that match that would have made a difference! Its not like we had 3 players that you know would have absolutely made a difference, yeah we have Gaya, but the goal didn't come from lack of defending from Lato or that top side, it came from an individual mistake in the center, Cheryshev has occasionally provided some spark, but he's been so injury prone that he's barely been able to stay fit for more than 2 weeks at a time and even when fit he's not a game changer! 

Levante UD vs Valencia CF Match

•    Levante UD
  21:00
  Valencia CF

Valencia CF are coming into this match off of an uplifting victory over Villarreal CF, especially as they are coached by former Valencia CF coach Unai Emery and have 4 former Valencia CF players playing for them as well. In fact Dani Parejo and Francis Coquelin joined them last season after a massive clear-out triggered by Peter Lim sold of or gave away some of our most veteran players. Villareal CF have also been playing really well in the league and quite higher than Valencia CF on the table, so it was a surprising, but welcomed win over them!

Valencia CF has won 2 of the last 3 matches, while Levante UD has lost 2 and draw one, so a slight advantage to Valencia CF if we go from recent results, in the last two years Valencia CF has won 3 and draw 1 of their games with Levante UD, so a slight advantage there as well and the matches have generally had more than 3 goals in the last three years, so I'm expecting a similar game, probably with 2+ goals and slightly bigger win probability for Valencia CF.

A year ago, Valencia CF were number 7 in the table with 41 points. Now they are number 12 with 30 points.

Valencia CF will be without several key players for this match, but this is an opportunity for other players to step up to the challenge and establish themselves. Uroš Račić, José Luis Gayá, Maxi Gómez, Carlos Soler, Denis Cheryshev and Cristiano Piccini will be unavailable for selection for Javi Gracia.

Valencia CF squad: Chillessen; Correia, Hugo, Paulista, Lato; Wass, Jason, Christian Oliva, Wass, Alex Blanco; Kang-In, Vallejo. 

Winning probability: Levante UD 23% win, Draw 50%, Valencia CF 27% win.

La Liga Matchday #26: Valencia CF 2 - 1 Villareal CF Match Thread

 PREVIEW

Valencia come into this game off a heavy 3-0 away defeat to Getafe. The team failed to show up or put in the required effort. That, paired with an early red card in the second half, made for an embarrassing game altogether.

Villareal have been poor recently as well, having not won a game in La Liga since early January. Their previous game was 0-2 home loss to Atletico Madrid. Despite dominating the game's possession and overall shots, they weren't effective in front of goal. An own goal in the first half and a great strike from Joao Felix in the second made the difference.

Valencia are currently 14th with 27 points from 25 games while Villareal are 7th with 37 points from just as many games.

SQUAD

Diakhaby will miss this game due to the red card he picked up last game. This should provide an opportunity for Guillamon or Ferro to start. 

Cheryshev and Piccini are the only two players left on the injury list.

La Liga Matchday #25: Getafe CF 3 - 0 Valencia CF Match Thread

NEWS

Alex Blanco's contract has been renewed to 2022. There was a clause in the player's contract that will automatically trigger the renewal should he play 10 games this season and that has been fulfilled in the Copa del Rey game against Sevilla. 

The club is trying to secure Kang In's contract renewal with new interest coming from other clubs. These are rumored to be Juventus and Real Madrid.

Pablo Longoria has been hired as the President of Olympique Marseille.

There were also rumors that Valencia maintain their interest in Pepe Bordalás as coach. With Getafe also struggling for form, his position has been questioned and Valencia is reportedly keeping an eye on the situation. Apparently, the choice made in the summer was between him and Javi Gracia, and management settled on the latter since he was without a team and could be lured easier.

PREVIEW

Getafe come into the game on the back of a 1-0 defeat away to Real Betis. The home team dominated the possession and chances but Getafe managed to hold on up until the 84th minute when they conceded a penalty. 

Valencia arrive with a 2-0 home against Celta Vigo in their previous fixture. While Valencia played better than in their past few games, the game was at a deadlock until injury time where Valencia scored twice. The goals came from Manu Vallejo and Gamerio, both introduced as second half substitutions, with set ups from Kang In and Correia who put in some good work this game.

Getafe are currently 15th in the standings with 24 points from 24 games. Valencia are 12th with 27 points from the same number of games.

FORM (all competitions)

Getafe: LLLLD

Valencia: WLDWL

SQUAD

Diakhaby has recovered and expected to be in the squad that travels to Getafe.

Javi Gracia has served his suspension and will return to the sidelines.

Piccini requires many weeks to get back to match fitness according to Javi Gracia and will likely not appear until close to the end of the season.

Cheryshev still deals with some discomfort and will not be part of this week's squad.

FIRST HALF

6' - Yellow card shown to Theirry Correia for a tactical foul on Mauro Arambarri to stop the counter-attack

13' - Yellow card shown to Enes Unal for an arm to the face of Gaya

28' - Yellow card shown to Djene for an off-the-ball challenge on Kang In before the corner

31' - Yellow card shown to Cabaco for a challenge on Kang In Lee who had robbed him off the ball in a dangerous position

39' - Goal for Getafe. 1-0. Mauro Arambarri gathers the attempted clearance from Correia, takes on touch and shoots from quite a long way out. Cillissen gets his fingertips to it but cannot keep it out.

45' - Three minutes added by the referee for stoppages

HALF-TIME

Half-time stats. 8-2 shots, 1-0 shots on target, 42-58% possession, 54-64% pass accuracy.

Rough half for both teams with 4 yellow cards already. Both teams struggled for chances and the difference is a long range strike that not much could be done about.

That being said, Getafe picked up a lot of yellow cards and two of them went to their central defenders. Under more pressure, this will force them to back away from challenges or get a red card which Valencia can capitalize on.

SECOND HALF

51' - Red card shown to Diakhaby for pulling down Maksimovic as the last man, thereby denying a goal-scoring opportunity. First game back and a costly error.

53' - First change for Valencia. Guillamon replaces Musah to reinforce the defense after the card.

54' - Unal with a 1 v 1 chance against Cillissen but he cannot score. That was very fortunate.

55' - Goal for Getafe. 2-0. Jaime Mata finishes a good pass from Unal

57' - Yellow card shown to Cucurella for a rough challenge on Paulista

64' - First change for Getafe. Chakla replaces Cabaco

68' _Second change for Valencia. Gameiro on, Racic off

73' - Second change for Getafe. Cucho Hernandez on, Enes Unal off 

75' - Red card shown to Paulista but overturned by VAR. That would've been really bad.

76' - Yellow card shown to Nyom for a challenge on Gaya. Yellow card shown to Gaya for dissent against the referee after that challenge.

81' - Double substitution for Valencia. Cutrone and Oliva on for Maxi Gomez and Carlos Soler

85' - Triple substitution for Getafe. Alena, Kubo, and Timor come on for Nyom, Mata and Arambarri

86' - Goal for Getafe. 3-0. Cucho Hernandez with a cross that was volleyed by Alena past Cillissen.

89' - Cillissen with good save to deny a fourth goal.

90' - Five minutes added by the referee for stoppages.

90+5' - Gullamon with a brilliant through ball to break down the defense. Gameiro pull its back for Kang In but he takes too many touches and the chances fizzles out.

FULL-TIME

Full-time stats. 15-5 shots, 4-0 shots on target, 42-58% possession, 58-68% pass accuracy.

Another embarrassing game. A defeat to rivals that allows them to go ahead in the league standings. And yet again, not a single shot on target for Valencia. The team failed to build on the positive result of the previous game.

The result of the first half was rescuable especially with the vulnerable central defenders of Getafe (both on yellow cards). However, it would be Valencia who would pick up the red card first, taking away any chance at a comeback and would widen the gap between teams. Getafe would grab a second goal soon after. The situation was comparable to a challenge by Getafe in the first half and they walked away with only a yellow card.

Valencia almost picked up a second red card after Paulista's challenge but the situation was rescued by VAR which overturned the decision. 

Getafe kept up the pressure sensing weakness and grabbed a third, and almost a fourth. Valencia almost produced a goal in the final minute but there was no finish.

Paulista in the post-match interview was in tears as he reflected on the current situation of the team. Where do they go from here?

Next match is on Friday March 5 against Villareal at Mestalla.