Almería receives a visit from one of the competition’s most in-form rivals with the difficult task of adding its first victory
Valencia faces the clash with morale through the roof after the resounding victory against Atlético de Madrid
Almería and Valencia face each other in search of a victory that in the case of the Andalusians, bottom with a single point, It would be the first after six games, and for the visitors the fourth, to prolong their good start to the league, reinforced by the 3-0 win over Atlético de Madrid a week ago.
Although he has made enough merits to achieve some victory, The Andalusian team has so far been the victim of errors such as those that caused last Sunday’s defeat in Villarreal and that is what the Valencian coach, Vicente Moreno, has worked on, who has doubts about forming his eleven.
These focus on players like Alejandro Pozo and Marc Pubill, who could not be in Villarreal and whose presence or not in the team may represent a handicap. Moreno has made it clear, with the facts, that he does not have Houboulang Mendes, so Chumi could once again be the player who occupies the right wing.
Despite the defeat, The good image in La Cerámica means that no changes are predictedalthough Idrissu Baba, who was left out a week ago, could come in to form a midfield with three players, which would cost Gonzalo Melero his job and would also cause some more variation in the attacking zone.
In that aspect, even Ibrahima Koné, who has not yet had a starting position with the rojiblancos -he has only played a few minutes-, could appear in the eleven and move the Colombian Luis Suárez to the left wing, since his best moments, both last year and this year, were done with a reference up front.
The red and white They will look for their second victory tomorrow against Valenciawhich would also be consecutive, since in seven matches they only added that victory, suffered four defeats and added two draws.
In front, Valencia will jump reinforced by its good image and its 3-0 win over Atlético after the league break, which helped them get back to points after two consecutive defeats and rejoin the top of the table, an area in which a very young squad like Rubén Baraja’s must move better than with the pressures that there is below.
But The Valencian team visits Almería conditioned by their physical problems, a situation that threatens to become common given that it barely has 22 players in its first team. Furthermore, several of them barely have experience in First Division.
In defence, The coach will not recover either Gabriel Paulista or Dimitri Foulquier, who seem to be there for the next matchday, and will lose Jesús Vázquez. These absences and the good performance against Atlético of the young center back Cristhian Mosquera suggest that the defense of the last day will be repeated with him included as a partner of Mouctar Diakhaby.
In the center of the field, Pepelu and Javi Guerra are currently undisputed in the engine room but the loss of Sergi Canós, which will be for several games, does force changes to be made, at least on the left wing.
Everything indicates that Diego López, from whom the player from Castellón had taken ownership, will return to the eleven. Of course, Baraja is expected to use other youngsters to complete the call-up with the option of them coming in from the bench.
The reunion of Hugo Duro with the goal against Atlético and the good game that André Almeida signed as a hook They mean that the Valladolid coach does not need to put his latest signings in the eleven, forward Roman Yaremchuk and midfielder Selim Amallah. However, it is expected that they will have minutes.
Although the season has just started, a victory in Almería, It would allow Valencia to open an eleven-point gap with the Andalusian teaman important detail given that in the end both teams share their first objective of remaining in the category.
Probable lineups
Almería: Luis Maximiano; Chumi, Edgar, César Montes, Akieme; Robertone, Baba, Lopi; Ramazani, Koné and Luis Suárez.
Valencia: Mamardashvili; Correia, Diakhaby, Mosquera, Gayà; Fran Pérez, Pepelu, Javi Guerra, Diego López; Almeida and Duro.
Referee: Busquets Ferrer (Balearic Islands).
Stadium: Power Horse Stadium.