On February 17th, we will look at a match between Valencia and Espanyol which will take place at Estadio de Mestalla in the 24th round of LaLiga.

Valencia, the 8th team in the league with a 6-13-4 record are currently enjoying a 6 games unbeaten run in all competitions. They have played a draw against Barcelona (2:2), Betis (2:2) and Real Sociedad (0:0). On the other side, Valencia managed to win against Villarreal (3:0), Getafe (3:1) and most recently Celtics (0:2) in the Europa League. As for their campaign in the LaLiga this season, they seemingly needed half a season to wake up and start performing at a decent level. On the bright side, it happened in the right order, instead of seeing them underperform in the 2nd half of the season. While we praise Valencia, I must also mention how impressed I am by their performances at home stadium, where they have not lost a match since November 3rd 2018 when they lost to Girona (0:1), which translates into an 8-3-0 record since the mentioned defeat against Girona. Estadio de Mestalla, where we have seen teams like Manchester United, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona failing to win is a fortress Valencia will hope to keep untouched for the remaining future.

Espanyol are currently 13th in the league with an 8-4-11 overall record and a poor 1-1-3 record in their last 5 games. In the course of their last 5, Espanyol lost to Real Sociedad (3:2), Eibar (3:0) and Real Madrid (2:4). On the bright side, they have managed to draw against Villarreal (2:2) and won their most recent match against Rayo Vallecano (2:1). The win against Rayo Vallecano and 3 points were much-needed for Espanyol to avoid dropping near the relegation zone. With 28 points this season, they are 5 points clear of the bottom 3, which may seem like a lot, but it really isn't. As they get ready to face Valencia at Mestalla, their away record does not look too good. And as "not too good" I mean they have the worst record in the league with 1-4-7 in 12 away games. Looking at all competitions, Espanyol has not won an away match since October 21st 2018, when they defeated Huesca (0:2). Ever since they have lost 7 and drew 3 games.

grrrr

With a terrible away record of Espanyol and a great home record of Valencia, its no surprise Valencia are considered a favourite to win this one. The last time these two sides met was on 26th August 2018 when Espanyol won 2:0. This time I can not see this game going the same way. Espanyol are simply in a terrible form which will translate into the next match. While they did win their last match, it was against Rayo Vallecano which is far from impressive, decent at most. On the other side, we have got Valencia who are only 5 points away from the top 5 spots in the league, and in desperate need of points to get there. The upcoming against poor travellers Espanyol should spell easy 3 points for Valencia. Expect yet another home win for the Los Che and yet another away defeat for Espanyol.

Prediction: Valencia to win
BetScorum link: https://betscorum.com/en-us/game/6627