Almeria vs Valencia Preview & Prediction | 2023-24 Spanish Primera
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THE FACTS
When is Almeria vs Valencia on and what time does it start? Almeria vs Valencia will take place on Saturday 23rd September, 2023 – 20:00 (UK)
Where can I get tickets for Almeria vs Valencia? Visit each club’s official website for the latest ticket information
What TV channel is Almeria vs Valencia on in the UK? Almeria vs Valencia will be televised live on LaLigaTV, but La Liga matches are also televised occasionally on Viaplay Sports and ITV
Where can I stream Almeria vs Valencia in the UK? Almeria vs Valencia can be streamed live on Viaplay, while ITV matches can be streamed live on ITVX
THE LOWDOWN
ALMERIA
Almeria gained promotion back to the top-flight in 2022 and they were involved in one of the most entertaining and competitive relegation battles ever in La Liga. The Andalusians narrowly survived the drop on the final day of the season but they did manage to collect 41 points, despite ending the season in 17th place.
This time around, though, they look set for another tough battle against the drop. They begin this weekend’s round of fixtures sitting rock-bottom in La Liga, having collected just one point from their opening five matches so far this season. They come into this one on the back of a 2-1 defeat away to Villarreal in their most recent outing, last weekend.
VALENCIA
Off-field protests continue with supporter unrest against Peter Lim very strong. Valencia managed to avoid relegation by the skin of their teeth last season but, once again, have had a bizarre summer in which several key players have been lost with very limited incomings for Ruben Baraja to deal with and another battle against the drop is likely.
Remarkably, though, they have managed three wins in their opening five matches so far this season. They defeated fellow crisis club Sevilla on the opening day of the season before edging past newly-promoted Las Palmas. After that they were beaten by both Osasuna and Alaves before a shock 3-0 hammering of Atletico Madrid in their most recent outing, last weekend.
THE TEAM NEWS
ALMERIA
Almeria remain without long-term absentee Martin Svidersky and they will also have injury doubts over both Marc Pubill and Jose Pozo.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Maximiano; Chumi, Montes, Gonzalez, Akieme; Lopy, Robertone; Embarba, Melero, Arribas; Suarez
UNAVAILABLE: Svidersky (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE: Pubill (Injured), Pozo (Injured)
VALENCIA
Ruben Baraja has a few injury issues, most notably at the back, though, with both Gabriel and Dimitri Foulquier out injured, as are Alberto Mari and Sergi Canos.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Mamardashvili; Correia, Mosquera, Diakhaby, Gaya; Pepelu, Guerra; Perez, Almeida, Yaremchuk; Duro
UNAVAILABLE: Gabriel (Injured), Canos (Injured), Mari (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE: Foulquier (Injured)
THE PREDICTION
We are just over a month into the 2023/24 La Liga campaign and this one could well be viewed as a very early season six pointer. Almeria were probably fortunate to have avoided relegation last season and they are now a weaker side than what they were. They face a Valencia side that are in a very similar situation with avoiding relegation the goal to achieve a successful campaign. It could be a thrilling, topsy turvy game down in Andalusia with both teams scoring seeming likely.
TIP: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE
