Valencia are seventh in the la Liga standings while Atletico are fourth with two points separating the two sides. The next match will be a tie-breaker of sorts after Valencia and Madrid settled for a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the tournament last year.
Valencia go into this match hoping to shake off the damage caused by a 3-0 defeat by Getafe last weekend. Atletico, on their part, beat Granada 1-0 after Angel Correa scored in the sixth minute of the match.
Los Che generally play well at home and have won four of their last six games at the Estadio de Mestalla. They will be riding on this historical supremacy at home to bid for win over Atletico, a strong possibility knowing that the Los Blancos have only won twice in their last six away matches.
Alvaro Morata is still nursing an injury and is an almost guaranteed miss from the match while Diego Costa, who is now back in training, may not have regained match fitness before the trip to Valencia.
We expect a great showdown as Valencia work tirelessly to impress home fans, while Atletico pursue the vital three points needed to re-introduce them into the top three.
The two teams are at almost similar quality of game and we expect each to work hard for a victory. Valencia are difficult to take down at home and will want extend their dominance there but Atletico are a traditionally superior la Liga opponent and will not take any beating lying down. It is against this backdrop that we strongly feel that this match will end in a draw.