La Liga's midweek action gets underway with Valencia's trip to Pamplona for their mid-table clash with Osasuna at El Sadar on Wednesday.
A dead rubber in many respects, bragging rights are still very much up for grabs in this contest as both sides strive to salvage seasons struck by snags and setbacks.
Match preview
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Currently 12th in the standings with 37 points under their belts, Osasuna's return to form in the latter half of the season has been nothing short of sensational.
Since New Year's Day, Jagoba Arrasate's men have taken 24 points from 16 games, collecting seven clean sheets and losing just four league games along the way.
Osasuna have avoided defeat in their last five league games, winning two and also participating in three goalless draws.
Against Elche last time out, Osasuna comfortably won the tie 2-0, with Kike Barja grabbing a goal just before half time and Diego Gonzalez scoring an own goal in the second half.
Star striker Chimy Avila continued his return to first-team football during the clash, coming on from the bench to make a late appearance for Los Rojillos.
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In what has been a tumultuous year to say the least at Mestalla, Javi Gracia's Valencia side have weathered the good, the bad and the ugly during this year's ill-fated campaign, but three points on Wednesday could inspire a strong end to the season for Los Che.
Currently 14th in the table, to say that Valencia have underperformed this season would be an understatement, although that is not to say that the team have not performed well on certain occasions.
Against Manuel Pellegrini's high-flying Real Betis side last time out, Los Che pushed the Andalusians hard, eventually drawing the tie 2-2 in Seville with Goncalo Guedes and Carlos Soler both finding the back of the net.
Valencia's primary issue this season has been consistency, with Gracia's men often failing to build on wins or follow up on positive performances. Against Osasuna, Los Che will have to pick up where they left off to grind out a win.
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Team News
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It is unlike Arrasate to tinker with a winning formula so do not expect too many changes from the side that beat Elche on the weekend.
Defender Juan Cruz, midfielder Inigo Perez and goalkeeper Ruben are all unavailable for this tie.
Gracia on the other hand has proven to be a notorious tinkerer this season and could well make changes this week.
Yunus Musah could retain his spot in midfield while Maxi Gomez is also likely to be reinstated in the ranks after serving his suspension.
Absentees include Thierry Correia and Jasper Cillessen.
Osasuna possible starting lineup:
Herrera; Nacho Vidal, Aridane, D. Garcia, Sanchez; Barja, Moncayola, Lucas Torro, Brasanac, R. Garcia; Budimir
Valencia possible starting lineup:
Domenech; Wass, Diakhaby, Guillamon, Gaya; Musah, Soler, Racic, Alex Blanco; Gameiro, Guedes
We say: Osasuna 1-1 Valencia
We are not expecting anything spectacular from this clash, with both sides edging closer to relatively unspectacular mid-table finishes. A touch of class from the likes of Ruben Garcia, Guedes or Soler would certainly get the fans out of their seats.
Top tip
Francis Buchanan
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Osasuna win with a probability of 39%. A win for Valencia had a probability of 32.37% and a draw had a probability of 28.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Osasuna win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.52%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.93%) and 2-0 (7.48%). The likeliest Valencia win was 0-1 (11.12%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.28%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 3.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Osasuna would win this match.
