Valencia will be bidding to avoid a fourth straight La Liga defeat at the start of the 2024-25 campaign when they welcome Villarreal to Mestalla on Saturday night.
Los Che are bottom of the table with zero points to show from three matches, while Villarreal occupy second spot, with a strong start seeing them collect seven points from an available nine.
Match preview
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Valencia suffered a 2-1 home loss to Barcelona in the first game week of the new La Liga season, before going down 3-1 to Celta Vigo in their second fixture of the campaign on August 23.
Ruben Baraja's side continued their season away to Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, but it was another disappointing result, with Benat Prados deciding the contest in the 45th minute, and zero points from three games has left Valencia at the bottom of the pile ahead of their clash with Villarreal.
Los Che have managed to make four signings this summer, bringing in Luis Rioja, Dani Gomez, Stole Dimitrievski and Rafa Mir, while Giorgi Mamardashvili will be remaining with the club on loan for the 2024-25 campaign despite his switch to Liverpool recently being confirmed.
It is far too early to hit the panic button, but Valencia's next two in La Liga are tough games, welcoming Villarreal on Saturday before heading to Atletico Madrid after the international break; Girona will then be their opponents in the sixth game week of the new campaign.
Valencia have only won one of their last five league games against Villarreal, but that was a 3-1 success in the corresponding fixture between the two sides last term.
![Villarreal manager Marcelino Garcia Toral during the pre-season friendly match at the City Ground, Nottingham on August 2, 2024 [on August 5, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/32/marcelino-garcia-toral.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Villarreal manager Marcelino Garcia Toral during the pre-season friendly match at the City Ground, Nottingham on August 2, 2024 [on August 5, 2024]")
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Villarreal, meanwhile, have been impressive so far this term, picking up seven points from their opening three matches, which has left them second in the table, two points behind the leaders Barcelona.
The Yellow Submarine opened their season with a 2-2 draw against Atletico Madrid, before recording a 2-1 victory over Sevilla in their second match of the campaign on August 23.
Marcelino's side were then involved in a seven-goal thriller against Celta Vigo on Monday; it did appear that the two teams would be sharing the points in a 3-3 draw, but Dani Parejo was able to win it for the hosts in the 10th minute of added time at the end of the 90, converting from close range after his penalty had been saved.
Villarreal finished eighth in La Liga last season, which will have to go down as a disappointment, and they will certainly be looking for a return to European football for the 2025-26 campaign.
The Yellow Submarine have made nine new signings this summer, with Logan Costa proving to be the biggest of those in terms of a transfer fee, while Alexander Sorloth has been their biggest departure.
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Team News
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Valencia will again be without the services of four players for this match, with Sergi Canos, Jose Gaya, Jaume Domenech and Mouctar Diakhaby on the sidelines.
Head coach Baraja is expected to resist the temptation to make wholesale changes, but Javi Guerra is likely to be introduced in midfield, with Hugo Guillamon potentially dropping out.
There could also be a return to the XI for Andre Almeida, with Rafa Mir likely to drop down to the bench, as Hugo Duro is a certain starter in the final third of the field.
As for Villarreal, Juan Foyth, Alfonso Pedraza and Denis Suarez all miss out through injury, but the Yellow Submarine did not pick up any fresh issues against Celta.
There are expected to be changes to the starting side for this match, with Logan Costa in line for a spot in the middle of the defence, while new signing Thierno Barry could start after scoring his first goal for the club off the bench in the seven-goal thriller last time out.
Barry is expected to come in for Gerard Moreno, who was replaced at the interval on Monday, with Arnaut Danjuma retaining his spot in attack after scoring twice in three league appearances this term.
Valencia possible starting lineup:
Mamardashvili; Foulquier, Tarrega, Mosquera, Vazquez; D Lopez, Pepelu, Guerra, Rioja; Almeida; Duro
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Conde; Femenia, Albiol, Costa, Cardona; Pino, Comesana, Parejo, Baena; Danjuma, Barry
We say: Valencia 1-2 Villarreal
Valencia desperately need to stop their losing run, but Villarreal are a classy outfit, and we can see the Yellow Submarine securing all three points to continue their excellent start to the campaign.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
