Reinvigorated Valencia are getting ready for a highly-anticipated clash with Atletico Madrid on Sunday night, as Gary Neville looks to take his first major scalp as Valencia boss.

Neville’s boys on the run

Valencia’s four-match winning stretch has been snapped with last week’s 3-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao, but Gary Neville’s men have returned to winning ways with a midweek victory at Malaga. Despite falling one down through Cop’s 14^th-minute goal, los Che were fortunate to earn an equalizer with Kameni’s comical own goal, but Neville’s men work hard to earn a win through Cheryshev, who struck at the beginning of the second half. Former Manchester United and England defender has now taken his club to ninth in the standings and things are starting to look up for the struggling team. Current form has sparked plenty of speculation of Gary Neville extending his stay past the ongoing season as Valencia owner Peter Lim is considering a new offer to his friend and manager. Neville has received backing from his team as well and Valencia key player this season Sophiane Feghouli has already expressed his desire to stay in the club despite heavy interest from European top clubs and the likes of Juventus, Inter, AC Milan, AS Roma and Liverpool. Valencia have been pretty effective in recent weeks, having scored 16 goals in last 6 matches, but they will now go against the best defence in the league.

Neville will have no major selection issued ahead of Atletico Madrid visi with Aymen Abdennour being the only unavailable player through his hamstring injury.

Atletico back on track

Diego Simeone’s men have recovered well from their back-to-back goalless draws against Villarreal in the league and at PSV in the UEFA Champions League. Rojiblancos have first recorded a morale-boosting 1-0 win over Real Madrid in the city derby which sent Los Blancos out of the title contention, while Simeone’s men also went on to score a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Real Sociedad during the week. Reyes opened the scorings with an own goal after eight minutes, while Niguez and Griezmann completed the scoreline with their second-half goals. Saul Niguez has been the talk of the town in recent weeks as the talented Spanish ace signed a new contract with Atletico Madrid, who are trying to shrug off the interest from Manchester United. The 21-year-old Niguez has been watched in numerous occasions by United scouts, but Diego Simeone is counting on his rising star, who made 32 appearances this season. Antoine Griezmann has been another prominent star in Simeone’s side as the French forward got back to his best. Griezmann scored a winner against Real Madrid while the goal versus Real Sociedad was his 14^th in the league so far. Atletico Madrid are keeping pace behind leaders Barcelona, but will be given a stern test at Mestalla against the revived Valencia.

Atletico Madrid travel to Valencia without Tiago, Carrasco, Thomas and Stefan Savic, who are all suffering from their respective injuries.

Verdict

Final match of the Sunday’s La Liga programme is bound to be an exciting affair between the two highly motivated sides. Valencia have seen a drastic rise in their form and Atletico Madrid will be made to work hard if they want to get anything out of their trip to Mestalla. Neville is searchingfor his first major scalp as Valencia manager, but chances are he will not be able to get it.

Top pick: Both teams to score – No    1.67 (4/6) @Coral

Alternative pick 1: Under 2.5 goals    1.53 (8/15) @Bet365

Alternative pick 2: Away win    2.05 (21/20) @WilliamHill