Three points for 14th-placed Los Che could see Javi Gracia's men haul themselves into 12th place, while a win for Celta could put them within touching distance of the league's Europa League spots.

Match preview

Valencia boss Javi Gracia celebrates with Uros Racic in January 2021 © Reuters

There are no two ways about it, this has been a disappointing campaign for Valencia.

After starting the season brightly, the last few months have been gruelling for Gracia's men, and Los Che fans have not been happy with recent results.

Against champions Real Madrid last time out, Valencia were comfortably dispatched 2-0 in the capital. The loss means that Los Che have picked up eight points from their last six league outings.

After the defeat, Gracia told the press: "Part of it is down to the superiority of our opponent, who did not need to be at their best, and part of it is also down to us because we were not at the level we should have been."

Gracia will no doubt look for a quick response from his side this weekend.

Celta Vigo head coach Eduardo Coudet pictured in January 2021 © Reuters

Celta Vigo have blown hot and cold this season, balancing periods of fleeting success with lengthy winless streaks.

Recent results indicate that Coudet's men are beginning to put together another impressive run of form. Star striker Iago Aspas has been working his way back into the starting XI and Celta have not lost a La Liga game for almost a month.

However, Aspas, who has netted five goals in his last six league appearances for Celta against Los Che, is suspended for this fixture.

In what has been a peculiar campaign for many La Liga outfits, it would be a huge success for Coudet if the Galician outfit were to qualify for the Europa League next season.

Valencia La Liga form: WDLWDL
Valencia form (all competitions): DLLWDL

Celta Vigo La Liga form: LLDDDW

Team News

Javi Gracia, now in charge of Valencia, pictured in August 2019 © Reuters

Gracia will have a largely fit squad to choose from on Saturday, but the Spaniard will be without several first-team players.

Mouctar Diakhaby and Denis Cheryshev are both unavailable due to minor injuries.

Along with Aspas, Brais Mendez is also suspended for Celta.

Coudet will also be without Emre Mor, David Junca and Sergio Alvarez who are all unavailable due to injury.

Valencia possible starting lineup:
Domenech; Correia, Gabriel, Ferreira, Gaya; Wass, Racic, Soler, Guedes; Gomez, Vallejo

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Blanco; Mallo, Araujo, Murillo, Caricol; Tapia, Baeza, Suarez, Nolito; Milla, Mina

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We say: Valencia 2-2 Celta Vigo

This is not exactly a game between La Liga's finest forces, but it does have the potential to be a bit of a fascinating matchup. We are expecting fireworks but no decisive action.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

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 Valencia win with a probability of 38.75%. A win for Celta Vigo had a probability of 34.21% and a draw had a probability of 27%.

The most likely scoreline for a Valencia win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.73%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.29%) and 2-0 (6.93%). The likeliest Celta Vigo win was 0-1 (9.94%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.83%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 6.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Valencia would win this match.