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Tactics & Lineups Valencia CF · Friday, 23 October 2026 at 19:25 CEST

Valencia CF vs Villarreal CF: A La Liga Derby with Contrasting Fortunes

Valencia CF faces Villarreal CF in a La Liga derby. Valencia struggles near the bottom, while Villarreal seeks to climb the table.

predict.game Sources: 10 ↓

In short

  • Valencia CF is in poor form, sitting 19th in La Liga with only one win this season.
  • Villarreal CF, despite some recent struggles and injuries, holds a superior league position and attacking rating.
  • Multiple key players are out for both teams due to international duty or injury, impacting squad depth.

Match Overview

Valencia CF will host regional rivals Villarreal CF at the Estadio de Mestalla in a La Liga clash that sees two teams with differing starts to the season. Valencia finds itself in a precarious position, battling near the bottom of the table, while Villarreal aims to consolidate its mid-table standing and push higher. The home side, under coach Carlos Corberán, has endured a challenging campaign, marked by a struggle for goals and defensive vulnerabilities. Their opponents, led by Inigo Perez, have shown more attacking prowess, though their form has been inconsistent. This derby promises to be a tactical battle, with both teams looking to secure crucial points.

Valencia’s recent form of DDLWL highlights their struggles, with only one win in their last five league outings. Their last match saw them draw 0-0 at home against Athletic Club [1]. Villarreal’s form is slightly better at DLWWL, including a 0-0 draw against Elche CF in their most recent league fixture [2]. Head-to-head encounters have been split recently, with Valencia winning 2-0 at home in October 2025 and Villarreal securing a 2-1 victory in February 2026.

Team News and Key Absences

Both Valencia and Villarreal enter this fixture with several players unavailable due to international call-ups and injuries. For Valencia, the attacking woes are compounded by the fact that Arnaut Danjuma’s last goal in the past year was against a regional team in the Copa del Rey [3]. Guruzeta is also sidelined with a torn ACL [4]. However, captain José Luis Gayà is fit and expected to play [5]. Youngsters Arnau Martinez and Ryunosuke Sato have been regular starters under Corberán, as has Pablo Maffeo at right-back [6].

Villarreal also faces significant absences. Logan Costa, Tani Oluwaseyi, and Alex Freeman are all away on international duty [7]. In addition, Aramburu is out with a soleus problem [8], and both Nicolas Pépé and Tajon Buchanan are still out injured [2]. Despite these setbacks, Georges Mikautadze and Sergi Cardona, who recently scored for Villarreal, are fit and expected to feature [9]. Péter Gulácsi is confirmed as Villarreal’s starting goalkeeper [10].

What it means

Valencia CF currently sits in 19th position in La Liga with a mere 6 points from 9 games, having won only once. Their form of DDLWL indicates a significant struggle to secure victories, and their goal difference of 6 goals for and 15 against highlights both an anemic attack and a leaky defense. This poor standing puts immense pressure on Carlos Corberán’s side to start picking up points, especially at home. The next fixture against Villarreal, a regional rival, presents a challenging task given their current form and the opponent’s superior league position.

Villarreal CF, in contrast, is positioned 12th with 9 points from 9 games, having secured two wins. Their form of DLWWL, while not spectacular, shows more resilience and an ability to win matches. With 13 goals scored and 13 conceded, their attacking output is considerably better than Valencia’s. The predict.game models consistently favor Villarreal in this encounter, with probabilities for an away win ranging from 39.9% to 48%. The most likely scorelines predicted by the models are 0-1 or 1-2 in favor of Villarreal, reflecting Valencia’s structural weaknesses and Villarreal’s attacking edge despite their own injury concerns.

Sources

  1. Marca: Valencia - Athletic | Aguirre deja quieto el banquillo de Mestalla: previa, análisis, pronóstico y predicción marca.com ↩
  2. Marca: Villarreal - Elche: horario, dónde ver en TV y canal del partido de LaLiga EA Sports marca.com ↩
  3. Marca: Danjuma, un año sin marcar en Primera tras 40 remates: sólo anotó ante un equipo... ¡de regional en Copa! marca.com ↩
  4. Marca: Nico vuelve con el Athletic marca.com ↩
  5. Marca: Gayà: "Me gustaría renovar, pero como dijo Braulio, ya hablaremos" marca.com ↩
  6. Marca: Los 10 millones que se le han 'atragantado' al Valencia marca.com ↩
  7. Marca: Iñigo se queda 'sin equipo' para aprovechar el parón marca.com ↩
  8. Marca: Matarazzo: "¿Ser sextos si ganamos? Ahora es más importante ganar puntos, confianza y juego que el puesto en el que estamos" marca.com ↩
  9. Sky Sports: 'He's difficult to stop' - Ngumoha stars in Liverpool comeback win skysports.com ↩
  10. Marca: Gulacsi: “Como portero me duele no tener puertas a cero” marca.com ↩

Written by predict.game's models from the sources listed. How our content is made →

More on Valencia

  1. Valencia's late derby collapse leaves Aguirre short before ElcheInjuries & Fitness, 27 Oct
  2. Valencia stuck in the La Liga bottom three after a late derby defeatMatchday Intelligence, 27 Oct
  3. Valencia CF Undergoes Major Shake-Up Amidst Ownership Change and Performance WoesInjuries & Fitness, 25 Oct
  4. Villarreal Secures Away Victory Against Valencia as Models Predict Correct ScoreTactics & Lineups, 25 Oct