Our prediction for this Primera Division match:
All eyes will be on Estadio de Mestalla when Valencia and Atletico Madrid face each other in the La Liga round 13. Los Che quickly bounced back from a heavy loss to Betis, with the team beating Villarreal at home on Matchday 12. Valencia are undefeated in the previous three home fixtures, but they face an uphill task in Sunday’s clash against the reigning champions. All Uros Racic, Gabriel Paulista, Denis Cheryshev, Maxi Gomez, and Antonio Latorre should miss out with injuries.
Los Rojiblancos, on the other hand, produced their probably best performance of the season at the weekend, with the team rolling over Real Betis 3-0 on home soil. Diego Simeone’s troops aim to stay in the title race, and seeing that Valencia suit them, we are tempted to put our money on Luis Suarez and Co. Simeone can’t count on the likes of Geoffrey Kondogbia, Thomas Lemar, and Marcos Llorente for Sunday’s clash.
Highlighted Player (Denis Cheryshev):
Probably the most famous Russian footballer never to have played for a domestic club, Denis Cheryshev was born in Nizhny Novgorod, but began his career at Sporting Gijon as his father played for the Spanish side at the time.
The talented winger eventually caught the eye of Real Madrid and went on to spend eight years in the youth academy at Santiago Bernabeu before he was given a chance to impress on senior level. Due to a fierce competition for places in Madrid, Cheryshev was forced to gain much needed first team experience via loan spells at Sevilla, Villarreal and Valencia, and he showed a great deal of potential during those stints, proving los Blancos were wrong to let him leave.
Chersyhev has been in and out of the Russia national team since making his debut in 2012, but there is a good chance he will become an important member of Sbornaya Komanda as soon as he secures regular playing time at club level. The Russian footballer is capable of operating on either wing or through the middle, and he has proved to be quite prolific in terms of both goals and assists.
Highlighted Team (Atletico Madrid):
Atletico Madrid are a Spanish team that plays in Primera Division (La Liga). Los Rojiblancos or los Colchoneros play their home matches at Estadio Vicente Calderon, which holds up to 54,960 spectators. Atletico Madrid have won 10 La Liga titles, but they have yet to lift the European Cup (Champions League) trophy.
Los Rojiblancos have won 10 Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) trophies and it has to be noted that they defeated their bitter local rivals Real Madrid in the 2012/2013 Spanish Cup final. The rivalry between the two capital clubs is pretty big and El Madrileno is regarded as one of the most exciting derbies in the world football.
Atletico Madrid played two Champions League finals under Diego Simeone, but they failed to beat Real Madrid in the title games (2013/2014 and 2015/2016). However, the Argentine tactician helped Atletico Madrid win the La Liga trophy in 2014 and, no doubt, he is one of the most successful coaches in the history of the capital club.