Mestalla tests Valencia’s revival as only a win over Real Sociedad eases drop fears | OneFootball

Valencia have stirred at last, now Mestalla must confirm the spark. Real Sociedad visit on Sunday at 21:30 in a fixture where only back-to-back wins meaningfully improve hopes of reaching the three-week LaLiga pause outside the relegation zone.

According to Superdeporte, early results in this seventh round have raised the stakes. Celta’s 5-0 over Racing lifted the safety bar to five points, the tally of Elche in 18th, Getafe in 17th and Levante UD in 16th, while Málaga versus Villarreal in the previous matchday had already shoved Valencia back into the bottom three.

Tuesday’s 0-1 victory at Alavés, secured by Luis Rioja who has pushed to make the squad again, eased the strain after five poor outings and Carlos Corberán’s dismissal. Even so, with two goals scored and 10 conceded, a draw would not be enough to climb clear.

New sporting director Braulio Vázquez is leading a reset before the pause. The next coach is, in principle, the Mexican Javier Aguirre, who would use that window to rebuild.

For now the reins remain with interim Óscar Sánchez, whose first win provided building blocks. Consecutive victories would markedly change the picture and reward a firefighter’s week.

Academy midfielder Aarón Mayol impressed on his full debut and could keep his place. Absences bite, with César Tárrega, Mouctar Diakhaby, Umar Sadiq, Dimitri Foulquier, José Copete and Diego López out, while Rioja is pushing for more minutes after Vitoria.

La Real arrive on seven points in mid-table, their start laced with doubts after a 1-2 Europa League defeat to Bournemouth. Pellegrino Matarazzo may rotate, with Sucic, Carlos Soler and Gonçalo Guedes in the frame, and Aramburu back from a European ban.

Carlos Soler returns to Mestalla as a visitor for the first time since his September 2022 move to Paris Saint-Germain. Guedes also reunites with his old club, while Take Kubo against Ryunosuke Sato adds a Japanese subplot. Sentiment aside, a home win would lift Valencia out of danger and hand the next coach a calmer brief.

Source: Superdeporte

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”