Valencia made an important step towards Champions League qualification by holding reigning champions Atletico Madrid to a 1-1 draw, and they are widely expected to return to winning ways against La Coruna.

Deportivo remained dangerously close to the bottom three after the 4-3 home loss to Sevilla and they now face another difficult match.

Valencia started a new era in the summer as the club underwent major changes in all areas and the first signs have been more than positive.

While the arrival of Peter Lim has brought financial stability, new boss Nuno Espirito Santo and his players have done brilliantly so far.

Los Che may have failed to reach the final stages of Copa del Rey, but their league campaign has been a huge success.

After the 1-1 draw at Vicente Calderon, Valencia are in excellent position to secure Champions League qualification, while they are just one place behind the third position that would ensure they skip the qualifying rounds.

Los Che have been a real force to be reckoned with at their Mestalla, winning last six matches there, so no wonder they have been made 1.40 (2/5) favourites to see off Deportivo.

Coach Nuno will be without the suspended Javi Fuego and Shkodran Mustafi, while Paco Alcacer remains sidelined through injury.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Alves – Barragan, Otamendi, Orban, Gaya – Perez, Parejo – Feghouli, Gomes, Piatti – Negredo.

Having worked hard to return to the elite division, Deportivo are in danger of getting straight back to Segunda at the end of the current campaign.

La Coruna have struggled to escape the danger zone from the very start to the season and they now sit just one point above the bottom three.

Victor Fernandez’s charges finally ended a run of three matches in which they failed to score a single goal, but were unlucky to face free-scoring Sevilla.

The 4-3 defeat at their Riazor ensured Deportivo have taken just one point from last four league fixtures and the poor run looks set to continue at Mestalla.

And having failed to score in seven of last eight league matches on the road, La Coruna are 1.85 (17/20) not to score against Valencia.

Striker Toche returns to the side after recovering from injury, while Diogo Salomao also returns and Helder Postiga is out with a back problem.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Fabricio – Juanfran, Insua, Sidnei, Luisinho – Borges, Bergantinos – Cavaleiro, Perez, Cuenca – Riera.