While Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid continue to struggle, Valencia are surprisingly the only side capable of keeping up with leaders Barcelona at the moment.

Buoyed by the tremendous start to the new La Liga campaign, los Che will attempt to shock their more illustrious opponents and close the gap to just one point.

Valencia have had their share of problems in recent years and it is fair to say nobody really expected them to shine this season.

However, former Villarreal boss Marcelino Garcia Toral has done brilliantly with the squad at his disposal, while club management also added a number of quality footballers to the ranks in the summer.

Los Che could only win one of first four league fixtures, but stalemates against Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid hinted the team had come a long way.

Following a 1-1 draw with Levante, Valencia went on to win their next eight league fixtures, climbing to second in the overall standings.

Even if many doubt they can mount a serious title challenge, los Che are now serious candidates for Champions League qualification and they will relish the opportunity to test their skills against leaders Barcelona.

Star striker Simone Zaza should play in spite of a long-standing knee injury, meaning that coach Marcelino will have fully fit squad to select from.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-2): Neto – Montoya, Garay, Murillo, Gaya – Soler, Parejo, Kondogbia, Guedes – Zaza, Rodrigo.

Twelve games into the new league campaign and Barcelona are already seen as hot favourites for the league trophy, meaning the title is theirs to lose.

While in-form Valencia are just four points behind, the Catalans are 10 points clear of both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, which is an excellent position for them.

Having won 11 of 12 league matches, Barcelona are flying high at the moment, and Ernesto Valverde even managed to rest Leo Messi in midweek’s game against Juventus.

The Catalans secured the first place in their Champions League group with a draw in Turin and are now priced at 1.91 (10/11) to win at Mestalla.

Head coach Ernesto Valverde has a number of injury worries ahead of the Valencia game, while Gerard Pique is suspended.

As things stand now, the likes of Javier Mascherano, Arda Turan, Sergi Roberto, Andre Gomes, Ousmane Dembele and Rafinha are all unavailable.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): ter Stegen – Semedo, Vermaelen, Umtiti, Alba – Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta – Messi, Suarez, Paulinho.