Valencia will be aiming to take four wins from their last five games in all competitions when they return to La Liga action with a home game against La Liga on Saturday evening Rayo Vallecano.

Both teams come into the game with Copa del Rey successes, with Valencia progressing to the third round thanks to a 3-1 win over Ejea, while Rayo beat Unionistas de Salamanca 3-2 to progress to the next round.

Game preview

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Valencia have lost just one of their last five games in all competitions, including a narrow defeat at Mallorca in La Liga last weekend, but they were back to winning ways in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday night, beating Ejea in round two.

Los Che has only increased 10 points from their 13 La Liga games Although they sit 19th in the division this season, they are just three points behind 17th-placed Getafe and still have two games in hand against the capital team.

Ruben BarajaThe Barcelona side have won two, drawn two and lost two of their six league games at the Mestalla this season and face a Rayo side who have struggled to score on their travels in the 2024/25 season and He only scored five goals in seven away games.

Valencia will be confident that they have enough quality to climb the table in the coming weeks and they have four more games to play before the winter break in Spain, where after this game they will face Real Valladolid, Espanyol and Alaves compete.

Los Che are unbeaten in their last three La Liga games against Rayo, but the corresponding game last season ended 0-0.

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Rayo have actually been unbeaten in their last three La Liga games in Valencia, including a 0-0 draw at the Mestalla last season, and they have been difficult to score against on their trips this season as they have only six conceded goals.

As mentioned, the capital team was also in Copa del Rey action on Wednesday, defeating Unionistas de Salamanca 3-2 to advance to the third round of the competition. Most recently they lost in La Liga at home to Athletic Bilbao 1-2 at the weekend.

Inigo PerezThe Barcelona side have lost each of their last three league games against Las Palmas, Sevilla and Athletic, while a disappointing run of form has seen them beaten in four of their last five.

Rayo is currently in 13th place in the table and has a record of four wins, four draws and six defeats from 14 games, which corresponds to a balance of 16 points. That puts them six points ahead of their opponents this weekend.

The Franjirrojos finished 17th in La Liga last season, so there is plenty of room for improvement this season.

Valencia La Liga form:

Valencia form (all competitions):

Rayo Vallecano La Liga form:

Rayo Vallecano form (all competitions):

Team news

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Valencia will be without five players due to injury on Saturday Dimitri Foulquier, Maximiliano Caufriez, Ruben Iranzo, Thierry Correia And Mouctar Diakhaby all not available for selection.

Head coach Baraja made major changes to his squad for the Copa del Rey clash with Ejea, but such as Yarek Gasiorowski, Javi Guerra, Luis Rioja And Hugo Duro will be back in the starting lineup for this game.

Foulquier’s absence frees up the right-back spot, which is expected to be filled by Jesus Vazquez.

As for Rayo, Raul de Tomas is not available for selection, but the capital club could otherwise have a full squad.

Adri Embarba came off the bench to score against Unionistas de Salamanca in the Copa del Rey, and the Spaniard will be one of several players returning to the team for the league affair.

Randy Nteka, Isi Palazon, Pep Chavarria And Pathe Ciss are also facing recalls, with the latter available for selection on Saturday evening despite being sent off last time out in the Copa del Rey.

Valencia possible starting lineup:
Mamardashvili; Vazquez, Tarrega, Mosquera, Gasiorowski, Gaya; Rioja, Barrenechea, Guerra, D. Lopez; Duro

Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Batalla; Ratiu, Lejeune, Moomin, Chavarria; Palazon, Ciss, Valentin, A Garcia; Nteka, Embarba

We say: Valencia 1-0 Rayo Vallecano

Valencia haven’t beaten Rayo at home in La Liga since November 2018 and it wouldn’t be a surprise if there was a draw this weekend, but Los Che will go into this game in better form and we expect the hosts get a narrow victory against Perez’s team.

To data analyze the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this game Please click here.

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