Welcoming opponents Granada to the Mestalla now offers Valencia a great chance to close the gap on those ahead, with the ‘Bats’ never having lost an H2H at home in any competition since their first-ever meeting in 1941/42.
Valencia
Still beset by financial woes and on-field inconsistencies, Valencia showed their true class by beating Athletic in midweek to make the Copa del Rey final, a victory which came hot on the heels of another 1-0 win (vs Mallorca) in La Liga action which snapped a seven-game winless league run. Welcoming opponents Granada to the Mestalla now offers Valencia a great chance to close the gap on those ahead, with the ‘Bats’ never having lost an H2H at home in any competition since their first-ever meeting in 1941/42. The recent home form may prove a stumbling block, however, with Valencia winless in their last four league games here, albeit three of those were against the current top-six sides (prior to the round).
Either way, a close game should be expected with six draws already here this La Liga season and only three games seeing a winning margin greater than a goal, the same scenario as seen in the last five H2Hs at any venue.
Granada
Granada hover precariously above the relegation zone in 17th place after going winless in their last eight La Liga matches. A 0-0 draw with Cádiz last time out was their tenth stalemate of the season – the tied second-most in La Liga – and also saw them fail to score for the fourth time in five matches. After losing their last three away days and securing only nine of their 25 league points on the road this season, Granada especially need to improve on their travels if they want a fourth-straight season in the top flight. Scoring first would appear key to their chances of a first-ever win at Valencia, as they are unbeaten away in the league when netting first but yet to win when conceding first.
Valencia top-scorer Goncalo Guedes has scored his side’s opener in each of his last eight goalscoring outings, while Granada’s Luis Suarez has scored four of his six La Liga goals this campaign before half-time. Ten of the last 13 H2H matches have featured at least one first-half goal.