Valencia’s trip to Elche seemed to come at the perfect time: a 2-0 victory erased the gap in points with the safety zone in this round. Although they remained in the danger zone after this victory due to their worse results in head-to-head matches against Almeria, this win ended an eight-game losing streak in La Liga away matches. This brought temporary manager Ruben Baraja his first triumph and clean sheet away from home during his tenure. Nevertheless, the new coach rightly stated that the team “has not achieved anything yet.” After 30 rounds, the hosts have eight wins and six draws, which corresponds to 30 points and 18th position in the standings. Castillejo, Marcos Andre, Cuellar, and Correa, who has a muscle injury, will not take the football field.
Survival for Valladolid is not yet guaranteed, but victories over higher-rated clubs Villarreal (2-1 away) and Girona (1-0 at home) lifted them from 17th place two rounds ago to a much more comfortable 14th after last weekend. It was an almost perfect start for interim boss Paulo Pecolzano, who earned more points (seven) in his first three matches than his predecessor Pacheta did in the last seven duels. In the current championship’s 30 rounds, the guests have ten wins and five draws, which corresponds to 35 points and 14th place in the standings. Today, only Anuar, who has a knee injury, will not be able to help his team.
