Tuesday, March 20, 2012

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21.03. (Wed) 20:00 Valencia - Zaragoza

Unai Emery, Valencia
Unai Emery, Valencia

PROBABLE LINEUPS

VALENCIA

Diego Alves
Barragan, Rami, Victor Rui, Jordi Alba
Albelda, Tino Costa
Feghouli, Jonas, Piatti
Soldado/Aduriz
REAL ZARAGOZA

RobertoAlvarez, Mateos, Paredes, Obradovic
Apono, Dujmovic
Garcia, Oriol, Lafita
Aranda

Unai Emery still has several injury woes to deal with, as Sergio Canales and Ever Banega are out with serious injuries, but Hedwiges Maduro may feature in the coming games after missing several months with an ankle injury.

The team is boosted by the return of Tino Costa into the starting XI after the Argentine missed last Sunday's match against Athletic Bilbao due to suspension.

Emery may end up resting Roberto Soldado in this one in favour of Aritz Aduriz, looking to give the former Mallorca a bit more time.

In goal, the rotation of Diego Alves and Vicente Guaita could see either start, but Emery will likely go with the Brazilian after the Spaniard started last time out.

For the visitors, the team seems fairly healthy entering the match, but Paulo da Silva is not fully fit after picking up a small injury and may not play. Defender Maurizio Lazano did not play in the team's last game due to suspension and may see action in this game.

Helder Postiga, who took off his jersey after scoring a goal over the weekend and was awarded his fifth yellow card, is suspended for the match. In addition, fellow Portuguese player Ruben Micael will also miss the clash due to suspension.

DID YOU KNOW?
  • Valencia, coming off a 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao, sit in third place in La Liga with 47 points, six above Levante.
  • Los Che faced their opponents for Wednesday earlier this season, winning 1-0 thanks to a late goal from Jordi Alba.
  • Soldado entered the match against Marcelo Bielsa's men having only scored three goals away from home all season. The former Getafe star managed to double the number after bagging a hat-trick.
  • Zaragoza are in last place in the league with 19 points and are coming off a draw with Osasuna where they scored the game's opener with just under 10 minutes from time, only to leave with a point after conceding a goal in the dying minutes.
  • The last time the club beat Valencia was last season and in dominant fashion, winning 4-0.
  • Sitting in the relegation zone, the visitors are eight points away from safety.
Prediction
Riding high after thrashing Athletic Bilbao last weekend, Valencia should have no trouble doing the same to the league's last-ranked team at Mestalla.
Editor's Prediction
Valencia 3-1 Zaragoza