Valencia CF vs Villarreal (villareal) - Match Preview

Sunday 21 hours the match between Valencia CF and Villarreal will start, two direct rivals and competitors for the 3rd spot in Spain will clash in what may very well be the deciding match this season. Both Valencia CF and Villarreal are very keep to finish 3rd as it automatically places the team in the group stage without having to play an additional fixture.

Valencia CF broke its spell of scoreless performances and the curse of strikers who have not scored since February and Soldado was the main man, netting 4 goals against his former club Getafe. Previosly Valencia CF had lost 3 matches in a row and less than convincing when performing.

But all that is forgoten now and the team will go into this match with renewed vigor and strength, ready to bring the fight to Villarreal, as Valencia is also playing at the Mestalla and with a home advantage it should make things a little bit easier.

Valencia is currently sitting at 3rd position, 3 points more than Villarreal, so this will be a crucial match and winning tomorrow and getting 6 points ahead of Villarreal will practically guarantee a 3rd place finish.

VCF coach Unai Emery has been experimenting with a 4-1-4-1 formation, fielding Maduro, Tino Costa and Ever Banega in the middle and another option has been the standard 4-4-2 formation. In the 4-4-2 formation Emery played with Jonas and Soldado again in attack, which means if he chooses this formation the same strikers are going to play. Which one Emery chooses is up for debate and anything is possible, but knowing Emery I think he is going to go with the 4-1-4-1 formation.

Anyways good news is that Albelda is back and is training with the rest of the team just fine, Guaita is also back and training good after his tragic events, Chori Dominguez was seen training, though may be a doubt or left for technical reasons anyways. Maduro has been training as well and basically everyone is pretty much fit and available for selection.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: César Sanchez, Vicente Guaita.
Defense: Bruno Saltor, Miguel Brito, Ricardo Costa, Angel Dealbert, Marius Stankevicius, Jeremy Mathieu, Jordi Alba.
Midfield: Mehmet Topal, Hedwiges Maduro, Éver Banega, Ricardo "Tino" Costa, Pablo Hernandez, Joaquín Sanchez, Juan Mata.
Attakc: Jonas Gonclaves, Aritz Aduriz, Roberto Soldado.

Villareal CF is currently sitting in 4th position, 3 points behind Valencia CF. They are coming off from a big win in the Europa League where they trashed Dutch team FC Twente 5-1. 

Villarreal coach, Juan Carlos Garrido said at the end of the morning practice today held behind closed doors at the Sports City of Villarreal for the League match against Valencia tomorrow (21.00 hours Mestalla) will be different for several reasons. "It's a special game for many reasons. We're playing for position and that also goes into the goal average. Clearly we want to be in the Champions League and we know that is a decider. Let's play outside and that is an important factor. No favorites in a great match between two great teams that have a positive sporting rivalry. We want to win this match and the only way is playing good football."

Villarreal CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Diego López y Juan Carlos.
Defense: Mario, Musacchio, Catalá, Capdevila, Marchena, Cicinho, Kiko y Joan Oriol.
Midfield: Borja Valero, Bruno, Santi Cazorla, Matilla y Wakaso.
Attack: Rossi, Nilmar y Marco Ruben.

Technical details:
Formation: 4-1-4-1
Line-up: Guaita; Bruno, Stankevicious, R.Costa, Mathieu; Topal; Joaquin, Banega, Tino, Mata; Soldado
Tactical: low defensive line, mid field opposing team pressure, wing and central attacking play, mostly short passing with decent amount of crosses from the wings.

Results prediction:
Valencia CF 2-1 Villarreal
If Valencia CF have a good day at the back and don't mess things up really bad, we should take this game. I think our defense is bad enough that it must concede a goal, but I'm sure VCF is going to score two goals.

Valencia CF is a top team

Well after today results in the Champions League there can not be any doubt in anyone's mind that Valencia CF is a top team and not only in Spain, but in Europe.

We see Real Madrid trashed Tottenham 4-0 today with ease, although they were helped a bit by Peter Crouch red card though, but non the less Real were levels above Tottenham.

To remind you Valencia CF lost to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu by 2-0, but it was a closer fight and right now Valencia CF has improved as opposed to the start.

Another fact to support this is the demolishing of Inter Milan by Schalke 04, who beat Inter at home with the result of 2-5.

Valencia CF only lost to Schalke 04 in Germany and only due to our bad defensive players making individual mistakes. Valencia CF pretty much controlled the match otherwise and created a ton of chances that somehow Aduriz missed all.

Finishing 3rd this season in Spain would be a huge success and as Manuel llorente has said it we should work towards getting more competitive with Real Madrid and Barcelona in the next 2 years, but we can't expect miracles.

With Ever Banega, Chori Dominguez, Vicente Rodriguez, Cezar Sanchez and Miguel Brito potentially leaving in the summer Valencia CF needs to do good business in the transfer market and get some very talented players that can help Valencia CF become more competitive with Barca and R. Madrid.

But the core team is here with the likes of Guaita, Tino Costa, Pablo, Mata, Soldado, etc...

Mata to be sold this summer?

Like it or hate it, Mata is a key player for Valencia CF and even though he has his frequent ups and downs he is so far the most important player for Valencia CF with 13 assists in all competitions and 6 goals. He is also a versatile player capable of playing as left winger, attacking midfielder, center forward and striker.

Apparently there are several clubs keeping close tabs on Mata and are interested in purchasing him.
First up is Manchester City, which tried to bring Mata last summer along with Silva, but Valencia management did not sell Mata and instead sold Silva. They are reportedly willing to pay up to 22 million euros to get him.

Next up are two more English teams in Manchester United and Chelsea. Manchester United squad is aging and they are reportedly looking for someone to strengthen the midfield and Mata is the perfect option.

Chelsea are reportedly also on the lookout and Mata fits their bills as he could play just behind the striker, Torress in this case and also on the left in a 3 man attack.

There are reports from Italy as well, suggesting that Inter Milan and Juventus are interested in signing Mata as well.
Juventus have been following Mata for 3 seasons now, before that they followed Silva, though they have not made an official offer as far as I know for Mata.
Apparently Inter is also looking so strengthen their left side with young and talented players and Mata is first on their list of reinforcements this summer.

The Italian clubs are said to be willing to dish out 25 million euros and even more to get the services of Mata.

Getafe CF 2-4 Valencia CF - Match Report

Valencia CF fans had a big scare tonight after Valencia felt 1-0 down to Getafe, who realistically were a lot better than Valencia in the opening stages of the match and looked set to take on the full 3 points home.

Valencia had to work really hard to comeback and it was former Getafe player Soldado who was the hero for Valencia as he scored 4 goals against his former team to enable this win for Valencia and get the team back on track and in third place.

The match started with Getafe the more dangerous team, the Valencia players were slow and barely moving, allowing Getafe to quickly close down and steal the ball, then do an attack towards Valencia goal.

Just 12 minutes in the game and Getafe scored the first goal. It was Manu who scored the goal, after he easily dribbled past Bruno, avoided R. Costa and Dealbert block and shot past goalkeeper Cezar and into the net. It was 1-0 for Getafe and it looked like this was going to be another disappointing match for Valencia.

Valencia players woke up at about the 20th minute and Mata and Pablo started doing some runs and passes, though nothing really effective. Mata was probably the most creative and lively player on the pitch for Valencia in the first 45 minutes and he had few good passes, 1 decent shot that went past the bar and few decent runs.

Not much happened otherwise, VCF midfield was pretty inactive and the link-up with the attack non-existent and the first half finished 1-0

Second half started and Valencia immediately got back on track. Mata got the ball, ran a bit forward and made a through pass that reached Soldado, who slotted the ball in the net.

Valencia livened up a little bit and were now more dangerous going forward. Anyways in the 64th minute a similar situation as as with the previous goal arose, this time Jonas was in place of Mata, he also made a through ball that found Soldado and this one much like in his previous goal, scored again. It was 1-2 for Valencia CF.

Soldado would go on to score twice more, the third time, his hatrick was due to a silly mistake by the Getafe defense basically giving Soldado the ball and the forward did not disappoint, scoring a goal from a tough position on the wide right side.

Roberto Soldado's fourth goal would come again by an assist from Mata, who received the ball in the middle of the field, ran forward, got in a good crossing spot and found Soldado who headed the ball into the net.

Technical Details:
Getafe CF (2): Ustari, Cata Díaz, Mané, Borja (Sardinero, min. 73), Miku, Parejo, Manu, Arizmendi, Mosquera (Pedro Ríos, min. 66), Marcano y Torres.

Valencia CF (4): César, Bruno, Topal, Soldado, Mata, Dealbert, Jonas (Maduro, min. 79), Pablo, Ricardo Costa (Stankevicius, min. 57), Mathieu y Tino Costa.

Goals: 13min, Manu 1-0; 47min, Soldado 1-1; 63min, Soldado 1-2; 67min, Soldado 1-3; 78min, Soldado 1-4; 88min, Sardinero 2-4.

Player Ratings:
Cezar 5.5 - Was not tested much, had one decent shot calmly caught, made a good save minutes later, maybe could have done better for the first goal, but not really at fault for any of the goals.
Bruno 5 - Allowed Manu past him for the first goal and looked vulnerable all match long. Did not offer much going forward.
R. Costa 6 - Decent showing, could have done better to mark Manu for the first Getafe goal though.
Dealbert 5.5 - Got a fast yellow, seemed stressed when alone at the back and unsure when on the ball, otherwise he actually did decently good pure defensively.
Mathieu 6 - Good defensively and went more forward than his partner Bruno. Decent match overall.
Pablo 5 - Offered some depth in the middle third in attack as he played more as a attacking midfield than winger, but too often overlapped with Mata. Not very effective on the right wing and invisible for long periods of the match.
Topal 6 - Did well to break up Getafe attacks and cover ground, a bit too simple at times with his passing. Needs to improve his passing range if he is to become great from good.
Tino Costa 5.5 - Tino was playing 2x better at the first half of the season than he is now. I don't know what it is, but he hasn't seem himself in the past month and a half. Didn't really do much of anything.
Mata 7.5 - Thankfully a good match by Mata. He was really creative all match long, run a lot, covered a lot of ground, made 2 assists and this is the Mata I'd like to see every match.
Jonas 7 - Great work rate, nice movement and seems to be developing good understanding with Soldado. Provided the assist for the 2nd goal.
Soldado 10 - What can I say the goal tally says it all. He scored 4 goals, worked very hard and found himself in good goalscoring positions.
Subs:
Stankevicious 6 - Solid enough, did not have trouble at the back and his passing actually helped Valencia in the middle to bring the ball from the back.
Maduro 5 - Made few touches, few misplaced crosses, pretty rusty and lacks match practice. Not enough time to do much though.
Alba N/A - Not enough time.

Getafe CF vs Valencia CF - Match Preview

Valencia's finals start tomorrow, the first final is against a very tough and dangerous opponent, playing with the advantage of home soil, it is Getafe. Last year Getafe were really good and while this season they have been particularly weakened by the selling of some key players, including Roberto Soldado who is now at Valencia CF.

Getafe CF have been struggling this whole season, while they are certainly not a push over team and are in the middle of the table their results have been left wanting. They are currently seating in 13th place on the table with only 34 points, 20 less than Valencia.

Their last 3 matches have been bad, a loss to Sporting, then a draw with Athletico at home and a more expected loss to Barcelona, though they did play pretty good in that match and even threatened Barcelona with a comeback in the later stages on the match.

Getafe is one of those teams that has good goalscoring record, in fact they are actually one of the most prolific teams in the bottom half of the table. Their problem has mainly been their defense and if you think Valencia CF defense is weak, you need to see Getafe's defense.

Getafe right now has two former Valencia CF strikers in the form of Miku and Arizmendi and both have spoken out and said how amazing of a match this will be for both of them.

Getafe CF squad: to be announced...

Valencia CF on the other hand are in a good position on the table, sitting 4th place down to just goals difference to Villarreal. Nevertheless the objective this season is to finish 3rd place and a win tomorrow is a must. Valencia CF has lost its last 3 matches, 2 in La Liga and one in the Champions League and its about time they started winning again.

The international break must have been welcomed by the players to get some much needed rest from football every 3 days and to clear their heads and start a fresh in the last stretch of the season.

Not all is positive at Valencia though and as usual something has to be happening to keep it varied and interesting for us fans even though it is usually bad stuff. For example Vicente has been seen staying late at nigh, till the 5am in the morning and has been accused of beating up some college kids.

Albelda and Navarro suffered some setback with injures and are out of the squad, same as Guaita who suffered some injury on his hand, while Vicente, Chori, and Miguel are out due to the still ongoing punishment by Emery for their bad behaviors. Joaquin meanwhile will sit out the match due to a collection of 5 yellow cards.

Tomorrow match is also an opportunity for the strike force to start working and start scoring goals again, as none of the strikers can be happy about his goalscoring record and the last goal was scored by Jonas somewhere in February.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: César Sánchez, Miguel Ángel Moyà
Defense: Bruno Saltor, Ángel Dealbert, Marius Stankevičius, Ricardo Costa, Jérémy Mathieu, Jordi Alba
Midfield: Hedwiges Maduro, Mehmet Topal, Juan Mata, Pablo Hernández, Éver Banega, Tino Costa, Isco Alarcón
Attack: Roberto Soldado, Aritz Aduriz, Jonas Gonçalves

Valencia CF technical:
Formation: 4-4-2
Line-up: Cezar; Bruno, Stankevivious, R.Costa, Mathieu; Pablo, Topal, Tino, Mata; Aduriz, Soldado
Tactics: High zone defense, high opposing field pressure, high frequency of crosses, mostly wing attacks, positional change from Mata and Pablo.
- This is going to be a standard 4-4-2 play and nothing that we haven't seen so far, with mostly wing play and high frequency crosses, with rare forays through the middle.

Result prediction:
Getafe CF 0-2 Valencia CF
I expect nothing other than a convincing victory here for Valencia CF. They had the rest, the practice and the support and now they must win tomorrow if they are to be able to finish in third position at the end of the season. A loss or a draw tomorrow is going to set us back too much and with having to face Villarreal next its not going to be a good thing fighting from behind.

Aritz Aduriz will be sold this summer

Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente confirmed that Aduriz will be sold this summer, he is going to be sold to Atletic Bilbao who are said to sell their star player Llorente to Real Madrid and are looking for a replacement.

Aduriz is a similar style player with great headers and big presence in the area, so he is the perfect choice for them.

Valencia CF is not really impressed with his goalscoring tally and is looking to make as much money from him and then go for Gameiro.
The president said that Valencia CF are going to try really hard to sign Kevin Gameiro and are even likely to offer 12 million euros for the forward.

EDIT: Happy Aprils fools day. Yes people this was a Aprils fools day joke. Its not real.

Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente taking things into his own hands

Probably one the best presidents in the past 20 years for Valencia, Manuel Llorente is taking things into his own hands to get the job done and that is Valencia CF finishing 3rd place.

Third place means so much to the club sportingly and financially that president Llorente doesn't want to leave no stone untouched. In fact there was similar meeting very recently on 17th of March where the objectives were laid out and where Llorente asked of the players and technical staff to give it their all and reach the objectives.

This new meeting will be pretty much the same, with the only difference being that Manuel Llorente is going to ask full professionalism and commitment from the players in the recent wake of the controversy with Vicente.

The meeting will take place Thursday when all the players have returned from their international games and as I've said the focus will be to get the team together and fully committed to reach the final objectives of finishing 3rd place in the league.