Valencia need to show some improvement after being completely outclassed by Bayern Munich in their opening game, but los Che have, nonetheless, shown more than their next opponents Lille, who were beaten at home by BATE Borisov. With both sides in desperate need of a victory, there is every chance we will see an interesting encounter at Mestalla.

Valencia keep improving

The departure of coach Unai Emery marked an end of an era for Valencia and the squad underwent major changes following the arrival of Mauricio Pellegrino. Aritz Aduriz, Pablo Hernandez, Jordi Alba, Mehmet Topal and few other players left, but the club officials did really well to sign the likes of Fernando Gago, Andres Guardado, Aly Cissokho and Nelson Valdez among others. The difficult fixture list was to blame for the slow start to the La Liga campaign, but los Che, nonetheless, showed a lot of promise in 1-1 draw with Real Madrid and narrow defeat to Barcelona. The team have since won their two home games, proving Mestalla is still a real fortress, while they succumbed to away defeats to Bayern Munich and Mallorca. With Fernando Gago finally back to the side and the players high on confidence after the victory over Real Zaragoza, Valencia can be trusted to see of out-of-sorts Lille.

Joao Pereira is doubtful through injury, but Adil Rami misses out through suspension and Ricardo Costa is out injured.

What is going on with Lille?

Club chiefs had big ambitions ahead of the season that saw the team move to new stadium Grand Stade Lille Metropole, but les Dogues have been pretty disappointing so far. It appears that Eden Hazard is still sorely missed, as how else can we explain the fact that Lille currently sit in 15th place in Ligue 1 standings with just one win in seven games. Their European showings have been a major disappointment as well, as les Dogues somehow managed to eliminate FC Copenhagen and reach Champions League group stages, only to record a 3-1 home defeat to minnows BATE Borisov in their opening game. Having gone five games without a win and going into the match on the back of the 2-0 defeat to Rennes at the weekend, Lille clearly don’t have much to hope for ahead of the trip to Mestalla.

Important midfielder Rio Mavuba is doubtful through injury, while playmaker Marvin Martin is definitely out. Salomon Kalou and Franck Beria are expected to return.

Verdict

Valencia may not be firing on all cylinders at the moment, but los Che are a real force to be reckoned with at their Mestalla and they have got to be considered favourites in this match. Lille are all over the place at the moment and they certainly don’t look like the team that can get something from Valencia.

Our prediction: Home win

Odds: 1.70 (7/10)

Bookmaker: William Hill