Both Valencia and Deportivo La Coruña opened up the new La Liga season with 0-0 draws. After the hosts qualified for the group stage of the Champions League, despite losing 2-1 to Monaco, and will now switch their focus to league play for the next several matches in hopes of climbing back up the table. 

On the other hand, La Coruña will want to improve on their 16th position from the previous campaign. They got off to a decent start, but a win at the Mestalla would do wonders for Victor Sanchez' side's confidence. 

Form

As mentioned earlier, Valencia already have more matches under their belt, having to go through the Champions League play-off round in order to advance to the next stage of the competition. At home against Monaco in the first leg, Els Taronges​, played superbly. They attacked switfly up the pitch and defended as a unit, and as a result, ran away with a resounding victory over their French counterparts. 

Since then, their form has dipped ever so slightly. An opening day draw to Rayo Vallecano and followed that performance up with a lackluster performance in the principality -- an early goal from Alvaro Negredo proved to be the difference. 

Real Sociedad was Depor's first test of the new campaign and played fairly well with all things considered. They controlled posession and had more shots on target, unfortunately, they just were not able to find that final ball that would have gotten them all three points. 

Key players

Alvaro Negredo is slowly turning into one of the best signings for Nuno this transfer window. He scored one of the most important goals in recent history and looks to be the Negredo of old -- scoring 20 plus goals in the league. It is his ability to hold the ball up against any central defender while still being able to create opportunities for his teammates. If he is able to find his scoring touch as the season winds on, then Valncia will be a very tough opponent. 

For Deportivo, experienced forward, Ceslo Borges has to start finding the back of the net if his side wants to be able to finish the season in a comfortable mid-table spot. At 27-years-old with international appearances under his belt, the Costa Rican is finally getting his shot at a top five European league after spending time in the Baltics with both AIK and Fredrikstad. It will take some time to get used to the style of the Spanish league, but once he does, his club will surely reap the benefits. 

Prediction

This is going to be a tight affair in the beginning as Valencia try to get themselves settled back in after a demanding 90 minutes on Tuesday. Once they do though, the hosts will come away the victors in front of their supporters.