Valencia vs Athletic Club 02/07/20

2 July 2020

Valencia (8th) and Athletic Club (9th) go head-to-head at the Estadio de Mestalla in a mid-table La Liga clash, with just a single point separating the sides ahead of the kick-off.

None of Valencia’s last four La Liga games has ended in a stalemate (W1, L3), with each of those results (win/loss) seeing the winner on the day keep a blank sheet. But, Los Ches remain one of three sides yet to lose at home this season (W9, D7) and have also won each of their last three top-flight H2Hs held at this venue. Notably, all of Valencia’s nine La Liga home victories this season produced a full-time margin of no more than two goals, with six of them yielding a clean sheet. Curiously, Albert Celades’ men have opened the scoring in 13 of 16 league home games, securing a draw in the other three matches in which they’ve shipped the opening goal.

On the other hand, the visitors have sealed just one win from seven La Liga trips this calendar year (D3, L3), with each of those three defeats producing a single-goal margin. However, Gaizka Garitano’s players have failed to show the ability to bounce back after conceding the opener away from home this season. Athletic lost all five of their La Liga away games in which they’ve allowed the opener. Despite drawing a blank in three of their last five top-flight trips to Valencia, the Basque-based outfit base their hopes of scoring here on the fact that ten of their 16 La Liga road matches this term saw both teams score