Sporting Gijon vs Valencia 09/01/19

09 January 2019

Sporting Gijon welcome Valencia to the Estadio El Molinon in the first leg of Copa del Rey round of 16 looking to bring a four-game home losing run against the Bats.

The Rojiblancos have gone past another La Liga side in the previous round, eliminating Eibar 4-2 on aggregate, as they now tackle a top-flight outfit, whom they’ve failed to beat in the past six games at home (D1, L5). However, Jose Alberto’s men have been boasting an almost perfect home record in the Segunda Division (W5, D4) before suffering a 2-1 loss to Zaragoza last time out. Established as one of the best defensive teams in the Spanish second tier, Gijon have kept a clean sheet in six of their 11 home clashes in all competitions, conceding over 1.5 goals per match just twice in the process. But, their attacking frailties have seen them score one goal or less in six competitive home outings, failing to score over 1.5 goals per match in their last two encounters at home.

On the other hand, the visitors come into this meeting after a 2-1 road loss to Deportivo Alaves that has brought their five-game unbeaten run to an end (W3, D2). Valencia’s last five games in all competitions have ended with both teams scoring, with three of them ending with the identical 2-1 scoreline. The Bats, however, deal with immense troubles playing away from home lately, having failed to secure all three points on their previous four road trips (D1, L3) struggling to hit the back of the net twice in the run. Marcelino Garcia Toral’s potential worry could be that his players scored over 1.5 goals per match just five times in 26 competitive outings this season, failing to score nine times in the process.