Valencia will be looking to make it two wins in a row when they host Villareal in the La Liga. Before the La Liga winter break, Valencia had defeated Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in Madrid. Villarreal had defeated Celta Vigo 3-2 at home in their most recent game.
Preview (Valencia vs. Villarreal)
With 23 points from their 18 league games this season—six wins, five draws, and seven losses—Valencia is ranked 10th in the standings at the beginning of 2024. Los Che has an opportunity to improve this season after finishing in 16th place in La Liga the previous season—their lowest position since they were demoted at the end of the 1985–86 campaign. Although Ruben Baraja’s team has struggled with consistency, they have had a fair amount of success at home. They have won four, drawing two, and losing two of their eight games to earn 14 points.
Before the winter break, Valencia won just their second away league game of the year against Rayo. Now, Los Che will try to win back-to-back games in Spain’s top flight for the first time this season. However, despite a 1-1 draw in their matchup at Mestalla last season, the six-time Spanish champions have lost their last three encounters with Villarreal. Villarreal qualified for the Europa League group stage last season because of their strong performance in La Liga. They finished in fifth place in the standings.
But the Yellow Submarine’s 2023–24 season has been turbulent in the first half. The Yellow Submarine have had a difficult league season thus far, managing only 19 points from 18 games. This has left them in 13th place in the standings, around 11 points behind sixth-place Real Sociedad. Even at this early in the season, there is still a lot of ground to make up. Despite only gaining one point from their first three league games in December, Marcelino’s team defeated Celta 3-2 before the Christmas break at Estadio de la Ceramica, thanks to goals from Alfonso Pedraza, Issa Mandi, and Dani Parejo.
Team News
Owing to a persistent back injury, André Almeida will not be available for Valencia on Tuesday. Head coach Baraja will have to make accommodations for these absences during the match against Villarreal. The defense will likely be replaced by Gabriel Paulista and Dimitri Foulquier for this game, but other than that, the same lineup that faced Rayo is anticipated, with Canos likely to start on the left side again after his game-winning performance.
Due to suspension, Alex Baena and Santi Comesana of Villarreal are also absent from this game. Both players received milestone bookings in the team’s victory over Celta. Meanwhile, several players for the Yellow Submarine are sidelined due to injury: Denis Suarez, Yerimi Pino, Juan Foyth, Gerard Moreno, Matteo Gabbia, and Juan Foyth.
Valencia 2 -1 Villareal
For more football previews, click here
