Valencia vs Arsenal 10/05/19

10 May 2019

Valencia and Arsenal go head-to-head at the Estadio de Mestalla for the return leg of their Europa League semi-final tie, as La Liga giants hope to overturn a 3-1 loss from the first leg.

A rampant Valencia clinched a stunning 6-2 La Liga away win over Huesca in the build-up to this meeting, bringing a three-game losing run across all competitions to a halt. What’s more, before suffering a narrow 1-0 loss to Eibar a fortnight ago, the hosts have racked up an impressive 20-game home unbeaten streak (W15, D5), conceding just nine goals during the run. The Bats, who have joined the EL knockout stage after failing to go past their respective Champions League group, have also won all five of their previous European home outings, scoring 2+ match goals four times in the process. Another encouraging fact for Marcelino Garcia Toral is that the Oranges have won all three of their previous home H2Hs with Arsenal, conceding only one goal across those clashes.

Meanwhile, the visitors go into this meeting off the back of a frustrating 1-1 Premier League home draw with Brighton, which left them with just one victory in their last five competitive games (W1, D1, L3). Also, the Gunners have suffered back-to-back away defeats ahead of this showdown, conceding precisely three match goals in each. Arsenal’s disappointing road form has seen them pick up just two triumphs on their last eight road trips across all competitions (W2, D1, L5), with Unai Emery’s men netting one goal or less in every single game during that period. A worrying fact for the traveling side is that they’ve lost two of three EL away games in the knockout stage (W1, L2), with two of those races featuring under 1.5 goals.