Prediction: Valladolid vs Valencia

Verdict: Both teams to score – yes

Best Odds: 22/25

Bookmaker: 888sport

Valencia know they need a win – the stronger, the better – if they want to clinch a UEFA Champions League berth for the 2019/20 season. They won’t have an easy challenge in their season finale, since they’ll go up against a strong Valladolid side that has been on the rise in recent weeks. Kick-off for this pivotal match at Estadio José Zorrilla is slated at 15:15 BST.

Valladolid

Real Valladolid have saved their best form for last. La Pucela were threatened by relegation during most of the 2018/19 season, but a recent two-game winning streak has pulled them away towards the safety zone for good. Now with only one match left on the Liga campaign, Valladolid can breathe and begin to play their new season accordingly, without the pressure of potentially knowing they might have to play in the Liga123 in 2019/20. Los Albivioletas have not only won two games in a row, but they’ve also lost just once in their last five Liga matches (W3, D1, L1) so they decided to get hot when it mattered the most. Following back-to-back wins against Athletic Bilbao (home) and Rayo Vallecano (away), now Ronaldo’s team – as the Brazilian forward is one of the owners – will aim to end the season on a strong note against Valencia. A team that will decide their Champions League fate in this match.

Team News

Valladolid won’t have three players available for this match. Pablo Hervias (knee), Luismi (ankle) and Anuar Tuhami (muscle) are all ruled out.

Plus, Stiven Plaza has been listed as questionable due to a knee problem. But he’s quite unlikely to feature in the season finale.

Valencia

Valladolid might not have much to play for, but that isn’t the case of Valencia. Los Che have experienced quite a turnaround during the second half of the season and if their goal at one point was merely to get a top-half finish, now the Mestalla-based side have one thing on their minds: to secure a Champions League berth for the 2019/20 season. This doesn’t sound complicated given their position in the standings. With only one match left in the calendar, Los Che sit in fourth place and basically depend on themselves to get the Top 4 finish they’ve been waiting for all year long. Valencia might be tied with Getafe in points, but the visitors here own a two-goal edge on the goal-differential department so Getafe would have to top Valencia’s result by a three-goal margin just to have any shot at a Champions League berth. Can they accomplish the goal and return to the UCL Group´Stage once again, just like they did it earlier this season?

Team News

Valencia won’t have Denys Cheryshev, as the former Real Madrid player remains out due to a knee injury.

Ezequiel Garay and Geoffrey Kondogbia are both doubtful due to thigh problems. Both will be a game-time decision for the coaching staff.

Key Factors to Consider

• Valladolid are La Liga’s third-worst home team with only five wins in 18 matches (W5, D5, L8).
• Valencia hold the H2H advantage (W13, D11, L9). However, the last three H2H matches ended in stalemate.
• Valladolid have scored most than once just twice in their last five matches. But they’ve gone undefeated in those two games (W1, D1).
• Valencia’s last four matches in all competitions have seen both sides scoring. All four have also witnessed over 3.5 goals scored.
• The last 10 H2H matches also show an edge for Valencia. They own a W5, D4, L1 supremacy over that span.

Conclusion

Both sides have scored in four of the last five H2H meetings between these two sides. That shouldn’t change ahead of this match.

Verdict: Both teams to score – yes

Best Odds: 22/25

Bookmaker: 888sport