Espanyol seriously damaged their European qualification hopes with the 2-0 defeat to Osasuna, but a victory over 3rd-placed Valencia would serve as a major confidence boost for los Periquitos.

Los Che, on the other hand, extended their advantage over top 4 rivals to four points as they hammered Rayo Vallecano at Mestalla and they will fancy their chances against out-of-form Espanyol.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side have been on the constant uptrend over the last few years and their excellent showings this term hinted that los Periquitos could be able to enter the race for Champions League places.

However, just when they needed a good run of results the most, Espanyol suffered a major dip in form that saw them pick up just 3 points from last 5 La Liga games.

As a result, the club from Barcelona are four points adrift of Europa League places and eight points behind fourth-placed Malaga, so it now looks as though they will miss out on European qualification.

Los Periquitos could, however, boost their European hopes with a win over Valencia, and they are 3.00 (2/1) with William Hill to claim maximum points at their Cornella El Prat.

Sergio Garcia has recovered from injury and is expected to be in the starting line-up, but Philippe Coutinho and Juan Forlin are suspended. First choice keeper Cristian Alvarez is back from a three-month spell on the sidelines, but he is no longer automatic choice for the number one spot.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Casilla – J. Lopez, Raul, Moreno, Didac Vila – Baena, Gomez – Weiss, Verdu, Uche – Garcia.

Despite playing well throughout the season, Valencia were in danger of turning the season into a major failure, with the four-match winless run seriously affecting their Europa League and La Liga ambitions.

Nonetheless, los Che showed a lot of character to record a 4-0 victory over AZ Alkmaar and qualify for the Europa League semi-finals, before holding Real Madrid to a goalless draw at Santiago Bernabeu.

Midweek victory over Rayo Vallecano saw Valencia cement the third place in the standings, but Unai Emery’s side now need to continue the rich vein of form in order to keep the chasing pack at a safe distance.

Boasting a 6-6-4 record on the travels this season, los Che can be trusted to beat out-of-form Espanyol, with 188BET paying 2.41 (24/17) on away win.

Sergio Canales returned into action after the six-month spell on the sidelines, while Victor Ruiz and Roberto Soldado should returned after they were rested in midweek.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Guaita – Ricardo Costa, Rami, Ruiz, Alba – Tino Costa, Topal – Feghouli, Jonas, Mathieu – Soldado.