On Thursday, Valencia will travel to the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes for a rescheduled La Liga fixture with relegation-threatened Granada.
Los Che will enter the contest in eighth position in the league table, while the Andalusian side are currently languishing in 19th spot.
Match preview
© Reuters
After failing to win any of their final nine games under Alexander Medina, Granada opted to have one last throw of the dice, replacing the 45-year-old with Jose Ramon Sandoval, who had been out of work since leaving Fuenlabrada in May 2022.
Sandoval has previous experience of pulling off a great escape at Granada, collecting 10 points in the final four games of the 2014-15 season to help the club preserve their top-flight status
However, his hopes of masterminding another unlikely survival bid have already taken a significant setback, after he began his second tenure with a narrow 1-0 defeat in Friday's away meeting with relegation rivals Cadiz.
As a result of that disappointing result, Granada have now lost four consecutive games, extending their winless run to 10 La Liga matches.
Having collected just two league wins all season, the Nazaries will need to overturn a mammoth 14-point gap to safety in their final nine matches to avoid an immediate return to the second tier.
Unfortunately for Granada, they may find it tough to secure all three points on Thursday, having failed to win any of their last four meetings with Valencia (D1, L3) since recording a 2-1 victory in December 2020.
© Reuters
After collecting 41 points from 29 matches, Valencia are only one point shy of equalling their total points tally from the 2022-23 campaign.
Although there has been an obvious improvement in Ruben Baraja's first full season in charge, Valencia's bid to secure European football has lost momentum in recent weeks.
Los Che were held to a goalless draw in Saturday's home meeting with Mallorca, leaving them with just one win from their last six matches.
Despite sitting eight points adrift of the top six, Valencia could still have a realistic chance of securing European qualification if Athletic Club beat Mallorca in Saturday's Copa del Rey final.
An Athletic victory would likely open up seventh spot as a Europa Conference League spot, and such a scenario would certainly interest a Valencia side that are sitting just one point adrift of the top seven.
While they may have lost their last three away games without scoring, Los Che can take confidence from the fact that they enjoyed success on their most recent trip to Andalusia in January when they ran out 4-1 winners against Cadiz.
Team News
© Reuters
Granada are still without the services of Jesus Vallejo, while Myrto Uzuni is unlikely to feature after being left on the bench against Cadiz due to an Achilles problem.
Lucas Boye played the duration of Friday's defeat with a knock, and the forward is regarded as a major doubt for Thursday's contest.
Matias Arezo could be given the chance to lead the line if Boye is not passed fit, and there could also be starting places for Gerard Gumbau and Facundo Pellistri.
As for Valencia, forward Roman Yaremchuk is set for a spell on the sidelines after sustaining a hamstring injury in the opening 20 minutes of Saturday's draw with Mallorca.
Yaremchuk's absence could result in Diego Lopez being presented with the chance to start in a front two alongside Valencia's top scorer Hugo Duro.
Defenders Jose Gaya and Mouctar Diakhaby remain unavailable, but Sergi Canos may return to the fold after missing out at the weekend due to an injury issue.
Granada possible starting lineup:
Batalla; Sanchez, Mendez, Rubio, Miquel, Neva; Melendo, Gumbau, Ruiz, Melendo; Arezo
Valencia possible starting lineup:
Mamardashvili; Correia, Mosquera, Ozkacar, Foulquier; Perez, Guillamon, Pepelu, Canos; Duro, Lopez
We say: Granada 1-2 Valencia
Valencia may have experienced a dip in form in recent weeks, but we still believe that they will have enough quality to beat a Granada side that are low on confidence following a 10-game winless run.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
