As Nuno Espírito Santo's Valencia side prepare to face Deportivo de La Coruña at the Mestalla Stadium on Friday night, the hosts - despite being overwhelming favourites - will be wary of the threat the visitors could cause.
"The most important thing is we win"
- Antonio Barragan
Els Taronges are having a great season, fourth in La Liga and just a point adrift of last year's champions Atlético Madrid in third. Despite this, Valencia slipped to a 3-0 defeat against Depor earlier this season and will be wary of the potential upset. Defender Antonio Barragan, however, remains confident that his side can win. "I remember that game and we didn't play well," he said. "We will try to do a better job this time and take three points. The most important thing is the win.''
Valencia's focus remains firmly on finishing the top four and qualifying for the Champions League - and recent form suggests they will do just that. Nuno's side have lost just once in their last 13 games and have not suffered defeat at the Mestalla since November 30 - statistics that will not fill many Depor fans with confidence. Valencia also come into Friday night's game off the back of a confidence-boosing late draw at the Vicente Calderón against Atlético last week, showing they can definitely go toe-to-toe with the Spanish elite.
For Depor and coach Víctor Fernández, the threat of relegation looms after a 4-3 defeat to Sevilla last time out. The Galician outfit are now just three points above the drop zone in sixteenth place, but goalkeeper Fabricio Agosto says the side are not thinking about that as an optition. "The word relegation scares me," he said. "We are not even considering that possibility."
"A draw would be a good result for us"
- Fabricio Agosto
Agosto and the rest of the Depor side know that to pick up a valuable three points against Valencia on Friday night will be a tough ask. Despite winning the reverse fixture 3-0, Agosto has conceded that a share of the spoils would be a result they could not turn their noses up at. "We know we have to play a perfect game against Valencia in order to take a positive result. Valencia are a great side and a draw would be a good result for us," he said.
Since their last win on February 6 in a 2-0 win over Eibar, Depor have picked up just one point in a 0-0 draw away at Almeria - a record that leaves no doubt why they are flirting with the relegation places. With Valencia in good form and a difficult trip to the Mestella on the cards, Brancoazuis know that to take anything away from this game would be bonus.