Valencia go into this weekend's game with struggling Elche knowing that a win could see them move up to second in the La Liga table if other results go their way. Should Sevilla lose to Villarreal on Sunday and Real Madrid fail to triumph in the eagerly-awaited first Clásico of the season on Saturday, three points would see Valencia leapfrog those sides, behind only Barcelona with nearly a quarter of the season played.

These two sides both slipped up in their last games against Deportivo La Coruña and Sevilla respectively, but in general there has been a sharp contrast between their form. Five wins from their opening seven games - including an impressive 3-1 victory over champions Atlético Madrid - thanks in no small part to the goalscoring form of Paco Alcácer means that Valencia have every chance of clinching Champions league qualification at the end of the season.

Conversely, Elche have struggled as many predicted they would and currently languish in the relegation zone with just one win and a paltry five points. Only Deportivo and Levante have conceded more goals than Elche's 18 in their first eight league games.

One piece of team news which will come as a welcome boost to Valencia fans is the return from injury of on-loan striker Álvaro Negredo. The Manchester City forward known as 'the Beast' is yet to feature in the league but manager Nuno Santo has confirmed that he is ready to make his debut. “Yes, he has been called and he is ready to help," Marca quoted him as saying.

Santo has also been speaking confidently about his side's chances of bouncing back from what was an unexpected defeat to Deportivo last time out. “We want to play well in front of our fans and we want the security of Mestalla helping us," he said. “It wasn’t a disastrous game but there are details we need to correct, individual moments of concentration. We’re convinced we’re going to do that. With due respect to Elche, I’m convinced we will win.”

His opposite number Fran Escriba has also been talking about the last round of matches in La Liga though he is keen to put another poor result behind him. “I’m happy with the players if not the result, which is the worst part," he claimed. "Sevilla are a far superior team to us but we competed well. We have another difficult game next week, against Valencia, and we will try to score points to get out of the relegation zone as soon as possible.”

Though Elche will be fighting tooth-and-nail for every point, the home side would be disappointed not to come away from this match with a reasonably comfortable win. If Negredo and Alcácer can gel as a strikeforce, Valencia will be a force to be reckoned with and it would not be a huge surprise to see them winning this one by three or four goals.

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About the author
Sam France
Former Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Features Editor at VAVEL UK, part of the VAVEL team 2014-2018.