Will Valencia spend the New Year in a CL place?
The extremely short winter break is already over again in the Spanish LaLiga and the conclusion of the first leg is on the agenda this weekend. While the majority of the games are played on Sunday and Monday, there is also a game on Friday afternoon. Valencia’s bats and Espanyol Barcelona face each other at the Mestalla Stadium.
The opening match of matchday 19 in Spain is the only top-level league game in European football. Around 350 kilometres separate the two cities and accordingly the visitors from Barcelona will not return home until just before the turn of the year. The match on this rather unusual date will start early on Friday afternoon at 16:15. The hosts are relatively clear favourites, as odds of just under 1.80 are offered for Valencia vs. Espanyol Barcelona to be won by the hosts.
The host’s very strong form before Christmas is decisive for this. After seven league games without defeat, the Bordalas eleven is brimming with confidence and could finish 2021 in a strong fourth place with a home victory.
Valencia – Statistics & current form
The situation at the six-time champions from Valencia is extremely precarious. Not for sporting reasons, but economically the bats are once again on the verge of collapse. A few days ago, there was a huge protest march in the city against President Peter Lim. Over 15,000 protesters had taken part and demanded that the Singapore businessman step down.
Sporting on the rise
The financial situation at Valencia has been a major issue for many years and the club has repeatedly had to sell key players and increasingly lost quality. The bottom of the table has often been Valencia’s home of late. Despite the big-name departures in the summer of 2021, the sporting situation is going absolutely according to plan. The last time Valencia was better after 18 match days was in the 2017/18 season. Compared to last year, the bats currently even have a plus of nine points to show.
Coach Pepe Bordalas, who came from Getafe, is responsible for this surge. At Getafe, Bordalas played extremely defensively, but at Valencia his style of play is much more offensive and attractive. Before the short winter break, Valencia played themselves into a frenzy and rushed from success to success. The last league defeat dates back to 27 October – after a 1:4 against Betis Sevilla, Valencia remained without defeat in the last seven league games.
Only one home defeat
The mini-crisis of seven winless games has finally been overcome. During this negative run between September and the end of October, Valencia also suffered their only home defeat at the Mestalla Stadium. Only Real Madrid, the sovereign league leader, managed to snatch three points on matchday five, otherwise the bats were always able to score. In the remaining home games, Valencia celebrated four victories and four times the points were shared.
A quite strong home record, very strong results before the eleven-day break and no personnel problems are three arguments that underline the tip on the home win between Valencia and Espanyol Barcelona.
Predicted line-up of Valencia:
Cillessen – Gaya, Diakhaby, Guillamon, Piccini – Cheryshev, Soler, Sangare, Costa – Duro, Guedes
Last matches played by Valencia:
LaLiga
12/20 2021 – Levante 3 – 4 Valencia
Copa del Rey
12/16 2021 – CD Arenteiro 1 – 3 Valencia
LaLiga
12/11 2021 – Valencia 2 – 1 Elche
12/05 2021 – Celta Vigo 1 – 2 Valencia
Copa del Rey
12/02 2021 – CD Utrillas 0 – 3 Valencia
Espanyol Barcelona – Statistics & current form
The best season in more than a decade was followed by absolute horror. Espanyol Barcelona were relegated in 2019/20, but were able to rectify this operational accident at the first attempt and celebrate direct promotion. Head coach Vicente Moreno has been closely linked with the club’s rise over the last year and a half, and he has continued to produce very good results with the promoted side this season.
Still without a win away from home
However, the strong results are almost exclusively limited to the performances at home at the RCDE Stadium. In the nine home games so far, the promoted team has collected 20 points, only losing the home game against the current champions Atletico Madrid (matchday 4).
However, the situation is completely different in the away games, because the promoted team has not yet been able to celebrate a single victory outside of its usual environment. Just three draws are on the books in nine games, and the Moreno team has lost each of its last four away games. In view of these disastrous figures away from home, a prediction on the home side in Valencia against Espanyol Barcelona is absolutely obvious.
In particular, the offensive has struggled to score away from home, with only six goals scored in nine away games so far. Overall, the Catalans are the second-worst away team in this LaLiga season. A success at the Mestalla would therefore be a big surprise. At least the promoted team can draw from a full squad on Friday afternoon and does not have to complain about any absences.
Projected line-up of Espanyol Barcelona:
Lopez – Pedrosa, Cabrera, Gomez, Miguelon – Vidal, Herrera, Darder, Puado – de Tomas, Melendo
Last matches played by Espanyol Barcelona:
LaLiga
12/17 2021 – Celta Vigo 3 – 1 Espanyol
Copa del Rey
12/14 2021 – CD Palencia Cristo Atletico 1 – 2 Espanyol
LaLiga
12/11 2021 – Espanyol 4 – 3 Levante
12/05 2021 – Rayo Vallecano 1 – 0 Espanyol
Copa del Rey
12/01 2021 – SD Solares 2 – 3 Espanyol
Valencia – Espanyol Barcelona Direct comparison / H2H balance
After five straight wins, Valencia’s bats went winless against Espanyol Barcelona in 2018/19, failing to score in either league match. In Espanyol Barcelona’s relegation year, the 2019/20 season, Valencia lived up to their role as favourites, winning both games. Looking at the accumulated results in the recent past, the tip for Valencia vs Espanyol is “Both teams score? No”, as this has been the case in six of the last seven games. Recently, however, Valencia have been a guarantor of many goals.
Valencia – Espanyol Barcelona Tip
In the last LaLiga match of 2021, it comes to a duel of differences. The home side are relatively strong at home and especially very fit, while the visitors are extremely weak away from home. Accordingly, the odds offered for a home win in Valencia against Espanyol Barcelona are surprisingly high. After all, the promoted team has not won a single away game so far this season.
Espanyol’s attack has often left much to be desired away from home (six goals), but recently the Moreno team has been much more dangerous on the offensive. Therefore, the “Over 2.5” and the “Both Teams to score” are also worth a recommendation in the top tips. However, the biggest profit opportunities are in Valencia against Espanyol Barcelona with a bet on a home win. Therefore, a stake of seven units is recommended. The reward for this success would be for Valencia to jump to fourth place in the meantime.
