Pablo Hernandez left this summer to Swansea, joining the long list of players who left the debt-ridden club looking for brighter prospects. Winger Jonathan Viera was brought as cover but he is still learning the ropes of the Spanish premier liga.
Having already faced top teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona, Valencia can't blame themselves for finding themselves at the wrong end of the league table. The last time Valencia met Atletico Madrid on the field was in a Europa League semi-final, they lost both the legs by a 5-2 aggregate. However, it is much different in the league. Atleti haven't won against Los Che in the last seasons.
Despite the odds against them, Atleti have won the last eight La Liga fixtures and are on a 13 game winning streak in all competitions. Manager Diego Simeone has a full strength squad of players available for selection and anything but three points at the Estadio Mestalla will be rued.
Radamel Falcao has scored in the last 11 games for club and country. He is only behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the league scoring charts with 10 goals in nine games. Valencia manager Mauricio Pellegrino must get his selection right if he wants to bridge that 14 point gap between Valencia and Atletico who are level on points with Barcelona at the top.
He cannot risk using Ever Banega who has just returned from injury. Sergio Canales, Pablo Piatti, Jeremy Mathieu are on the injured list. Speaking at the press conference Pellegrino said:
“They are on a very good run and it is not by chance. It is the fruit of the work of a team and not of just one player. They will be a very strong opponent and a great test for us. It is premature to speak of the end of the season when we are only in the 10th game, but at the end one finishes where they deserve.”
Diego Simeone spoke to the Atleti website:
“We are going to face a great rival that is in need with obligations by their history, by how they have done in the last couple of years, by their coach and by the capacity of the players they have to do well.”
Prediction: Valencia 2-3 Atletico
