Valencia braced for four-game survival scrap, two at Mestalla and two away | OneFootball

Valencia approach the final four LaLiga matches under severe pressure to secure safety, with Rayo Vallecano and Barcelona at Mestalla and Athletic Club and Real Sociedad away. As reported by AS, the run-in leaves little margin for error.

Corberán's side have 39 points from 34 games, three clear of the line set by Alavés on 36. Valencia hold the head-to-head over Alavés, so the effective cushion is four.

The last comparable run-in came in 2022/23, when Baraja kept them up on the final day with a draw at Betis's Benito Villamarín. After 34 games they had 37 points and Getafe 34, the latter marking the relegation line. Valencia took five points from the last four to finish on 42.

That escape hinged on a draining penultimate-round win over Espanyol at Mestalla, which sent them to Seville still in control of their fate.

Their other near miss with four to play came in 2007/08, when they sat 15th on 42 points, four above 18th-placed Real Zaragoza on 38. They beat Osasuna at home on matchday 34 in Voro's first game after replacing Koeman, then lost 6-0 in Barcelona. Valencia then won their final three, including a 1-0 victory over Real Zaragoza at Mestalla, and Zaragoza went down.

Valencia have flirted with danger all season and now comes the reckoning. Nine clubs are tangled in the fight to stay up, and the next weeks will be taut. For Valencia, four finals remain.

Source: AS