Valencia will be aiming to continue their push for the top six when they head to Las Palmas on Saturday evening for an intriguing affair in Spain's top flight.
Los Che are currently seventh in the La Liga table, two points behind sixth-placed Real Sociedad, while Las Palmas are also having a strong season, currently sitting up in ninth position.
Match preview
© Reuters
Las Palmas finished second in the Segunda Division last season to earn promotion back to the top flight, and many tipped them to struggle this term, but Los Amarillos are enjoying an impressive campaign.
Indeed, a record of nine wins, five draws and nine defeats from 23 matches has seen them collect 32 points, which is enough for ninth position in the table, three points behind their opponents in this game.
Las Palmas lost narrowly at home to Real Madrid in their final game of last month before playing out a 1-1 draw with Granada on February 3, and they will now be bidding to return to winning ways on Saturday.
Garcia Pimienta's side have the second-best defensive record in La Liga this season, only conceding 20 times in their 23 matches, but they have only netted 23 times, which is the joint-fifth worst attacking record in the division.
Las Palmas recorded a 2-1 victory over Valencia when the two teams last locked horns at Estadio Gran Canaria in January 2018, but Los Che were 1-0 winners in the reverse match earlier this season.
© Reuters
Valencia will enter this game off the back of a 2-1 home success over Almeria, with the result moving them into seventh position in the table, boasting 35 points from their 23 league games this term.
Los Che are only two points behind sixth-placed Real Sociedad, which is a position which would see them, as it stands, qualify for the Conference League playoff round.
Valencia finished down in 16th position last term, which proved to be their worst spot in the top flight since being relegated at the end of the 1985-86 campaign, but there has been a huge improvement this season, and a top-six position would certainly go down as a very successful season.
Ruben Baraja's side have been strong at home this term, but their away form has been patchy, winning just three of their 12 matches, suffering six defeats in the process.
Valencia's only league defeat since December 8 proved to be a 2-0 reverse at Atletico Madrid on January 28, but they have won two of their last three league away matches, including a 4-1 success at Cadiz last month.
Team News
© Reuters
Las Palmas will again be missing Benito Ramirez due to a tendon problem, while Aaron Escandell is suspended following his red card against Granada, which occurred when he was on the bench.
The home side will also have to make checks on the fitness of Eric Curbelo, Alvaro Lemos and Javi Munoz, but Julian Araujo has now served a four-game suspension and is available for this match.
Sandro Ramirez is again set to lead the line with support from Munir El Haddadi and Alberto Moleiro in the wide areas, while Marvin Park is expected to retain his spot at right-back.
As for Valencia, Diego Lopez and Andre Almeida are major doubts, while Thierry Correia and Sergi Canos are definitely unavailable with thigh and hamstring issues respectively.
However, Mouctar Diakhaby's involvement for Guinea at the Africa Cup of Nations has now come to an end, so the centre-back should be back in the squad for this match.
Should Diego Lopez fail to make it, then Fran Perez is likely to be introduced in a wide area, while Hugo Duro and Roman Yaremchuk are set to continue as the front two this weekend.
Las Palmas possible starting lineup:
Valles; Park, Suarez, Marmol, S Cardona; El Haddadi, Loiodice, Perrone, K Rodriguez, Moleiro; Sandro
Valencia possible starting lineup:
Mamardashvili; Foulquier, Mosquera, Ozkacar, Gaya; Perez, Pepelu, Guillamon, Guerra; Duro, Yaremchuk
We say: Las Palmas 1-1 Valencia
Las Palmas have only lost three times at home this season, while Valencia have just three away victories to their name. Strong cases can be made for both teams to win on Saturday, but we are expecting a very tight game and have had to settle on a low-scoring draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
