La Liga preview and odds: Valencia vs Espanyol

Published on: 12/02/2016

La Liga preview and odds: Valencia vs Espanyol

February 13, 2016 20:30pm - Estadio de Mestalla

La Liga

The two teams with the worst form in La Liga will go head-to-head on Saturday night as sinking Valencia take on 17th-ranked Espanyol at Estadio de Mestalla.

Big chance for Neville to bag first league win

Gary Neville will be looking for his first league win as Valencia boss when his team faces out-of-form Espanyol on Saturday. Both sides have managed just six points in their last 10 games, although only Valencia have failed to win a game in that time.

Last time out, Los Che became only the second team to lose at Real Betis this season (Real Sociedad being the other) when they fell 1-0 at Estadio Benito Villamarín.

When Neville took over, Valencia were just five points away from the Champions League places - however, they now sit in 14th place just four points above the drop zone.

Espanyol

Espanyol have won just one of their last 11 La Liga matches, having drawn three and lost the other seven. Their dreadful run of form has left them in 17th place in the table, just one point above the relegation places. They have lost their last eight away games in a row.

In their last game, Constantin Galca`s men were humiliated 0-5 at home by Real Sociedad. This weekend, they face the only team in the league that has not won any of their last 12 matches.

Team news

Valencia will be without the suspended trio of Andre Gomez, Shkodran Mustafi and Jose Gaya.

Neville will also have to cope without Guilherme Siqueira, Enzo Perez, Paco Alcacer and Javi Fuego, who are all injured.

Meanwhile, Ruben Duarte, Victor Sanchez, Felipe Caicedo and Arbilla are all injured for Espanyol.

Recent form (League)

Valencia: LLDDL

Espanyol: LLDLL

Betting odds and tips

With two team in such bad form, this one is tough to call. However, with five draws in their last six home games, could there be another stalemate on the cards for Valencia?

The stats show that Espanyol have yet to draw on the road and have lost their last eight in a row, scoring just three goals the process. As a result, this game represents a great chance for Valencia to break that drawing habit and grab that elusive win.

You can back the home win at 3/4 with Bet365

By Neil Morris

Published on: 12/02/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (12/02/2016 18:39:26) but are subject to change.