One of the biggest matches of the weekend in the Spanish La Liga takes place on Saturday as Getafe host Valencia. Getafe come into this match in 4th place in the league which is the final qualifying position for the Champions League. Valencia are just one place and 2 points behind their opponents and a win will see them move above the hosts so this is an important game.
Getafe come into the match having enjoyed an excellent 2-0 victory away against Athletic Bilbao last weekend. That result means they have won each of their last 3 La Liga games and in addition to the victory above Getafe have defeated Leganes 3-0 away from home and Real Betis 1-0 at home. Getafe have managed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last three league matches.
Getafe have a good record of 22 undefeated games in their last 26 home encounters in all competitions. They have lost only 2 of their last 12 La Liga games and just 2 of their last 16 on home soil. Getafe are usually very good defensively when playing at home and they have kept 4 clean sheets in their last 5 matches at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez.
However, they struggled when Barcelona and Real Madrid came to town and will want to deliver an improved performance against one of Spain's Champions League hopefuls this season.
Valencia played on Tuesday night in the quarter-final of the Copa del Rey but were eliminated from the competition by Granada. Valencia fell behind to an early goal in the 3rd minute but despite scoring an equaliser 5 minutes before half time they went on to concede again late in the second half to lose the game.
It was their first defeat in their last 5 matches in all competitions which included wins over Barcelona and Celta Vigo at home in the league plus UD Logroñés and Cultural Leonesa in the Copa del Rey. The latter of which was via a penalty shootout.
Trends show Valencia have lost only one of their last 8 La Liga matches. However, they have won only one of their last 4 away League games which was against Levante on the 7th of December. Since then they have been held by Real Valladolid and lost 4-1 at Real Mallorca.
Looking ahead to the team news and Getafe have just one injury concern as goalkeeper Filip Manojlovic is close to a return following a back injury. However, David Soria is first choice so this will not make any difference to the team selection.
Valencia have both Daniel Wass and Francis Coquelin suspended for this match. Ezequiel Garay is out with a knee injury and they have doubts over if it was of Cristiano Piccini, Denis Cheryshev, Gaya, Kevin Gameiro and Manu Vallejo.
This is a key game for both teams as they attempt to seal their place in the top four this season and should be very exciting to watch. However, Valencia have suspension and injury concerns while Getafe are rested and at full strength which should see the home team take maximum points with both teams scoring.