Valencia will be aiming to record just their second La Liga victory of the 2024-25 campaign when they head to Estadio Municipal de Butarque on Friday night to tackle Leganes.
Los Che have made a disappointing start to the current season, sitting down in 18th position in the table on five points, while Leganes have picked up seven points from their opening eight games to occupy 16th.
Match preview
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Leganes won the 2023-24 Segunda Division to secure a return to the top flight, with the team back in La Liga after a four-year absence, and any spot over 18th this term would be considered as a success.
El Lega have picked up seven points from their opening eight matches of the campaign to sit in 16th spot, while they have only conceded nine times this term, which is a solid defensive record considering their position in the table.
Borja Jimenez's side were actually unbeaten in their opening three games of the season, drawing with Osasuna and Real Valladolid either side of a 2-1 home success over Las Palmas.
Leganes have only picked up two points from their last five matches, but they are unbeaten in their last two, sharing the points with Getafe and Rayo Vallecano after three successive losses to Mallorca, Real Betis and Athletic Bilbao.
El Lega are actually unbeaten in their last four La Liga matches with Valencia and recorded a 1-0 victory when the two teams locked horns in the corresponding fixture last term.
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Valencia, meanwhile, have struggled this term, boasting a record of one win, two draws and five defeats from their eight matches, which has left them in 18th spot in the table on five points.
Los Che only picked up one point from their opening five games of the season, but they managed to record their first victory of the campaign on September 21, beating Girona 2-0 at Mestalla.
Valencia then played out a 0-0 draw with Osasuna, but they will enter this match off the back of a 3-0 defeat to Real Sociedad, which made it 13 goals conceded in their opening eight matches.
Ruben Baraja's side finished ninth in La Liga last term, but they have been unable to kick on this term and are some way from the team that last finished fourth in 2018-19.
There is still a lot of football to be played this season, though, and a win on Friday night would certainly leave them in a better frame of mind heading into the October international break.
Team News
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Leganes will be without the services of two first-team players through injury, with Naim Garcia and Yvan Neyou unavailable for selection, but the home side have no fresh injury concerns.
Head coach Jimenez could select the same side that took to the field for the first whistle against Rayo Vallecano, with Sebastien Haller set to lead the line once again.
Adria Alti played further forward last time out, and that could again be the case here, while Juan Cruz has now scored three times in the league this season, and the Spaniard is certain to start.
As for Valencia, Rafa Mir remains suspended by the club, while Jose Gaya, Jaume Domenech and Mouctar Diakhaby are still on the sidelines with injury problems.
Jesus Vazquez is also expected to miss out with the issue that forced him off against Real Sociedad, so there could be a start at left-back for Thierry Correia.
Head coach Baraja is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack, but there is likely to be a spot in an attacking area for Sergi Canos, with Diego Lopez potentially dropping to the bench.
Hugo Duro and Javi Guerra are set to continue as the front two for the seven-time Spanish champions.
Leganes possible starting lineup:
Dmitrovic; Rosier, Gonzalez, Nastasic, Hernandez; Cisse, Tapia; Cruz, Lopez, Alti; Haller
Valencia possible starting lineup:
Mamardashvili; Foulquier, Tarrega, Mosquera, Correia; Canos, Guilllamon, Pepelu, Rioja; Duro, Guerra
We say: Leganes 1-1 Valencia
Three of the last four La Liga matches between these two sides have finished 1-1, and we can see the same scoreline occurring here. Valencia are just not winning games at the moment, and despite their quality, we are finding it difficult to back them to secure all three points on Friday night.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
