Please, try again later
A place in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals will be at stake when Sporting Gijon and Valencia face each other in the double-header. Estadio Municipal El Molinon will host the first leg and Valencia are considered favourites to win Tuesday’s football match. Los Che aim to bounce back from a La Liga defeat to Alaves and we predict that they are going to fight tooth and nail against the Segunda Division side. Sporting Gijon failed to impress in a 2-1 defeat to Real Zaragoza at the weekend and seeing that Valencia are eager to give fans some cheer, away win should be considered. Former Chelsea attacker Batshuayi, who came from the bench in the defeat to Alaves, is likely to start the match. Kevin Gameiro should join him up front and we believe that the duo will lead los Che to a victory.
The hosts are currently operating at the level below Valencia, while they didn’t exactly build momentum at the weekend, but they aren’t likely to show any fear in front of their own fans on Tuesday. José Alberto López Menéndez’s men knocked out top-flight Eibar in the last round, while they’ve been tough to beat in their own division for some time.
Gijon have lost just one of their last six league matches, during which time they’ve been reasonably useful at the back. Prior to their defeat at the weekend, where they created more than their opponents, Tuesday’s hosts had kept three clean sheets on the spin. In addition, their underlying numbers at home are pleasing. Gijon are averaging 1.55 expected goals for at home, while they’re conceding just 1.01 at the other end.
What’s more, Menéndez’s side should take plenty of confidence from the fact that they dominated a Primera side at this venue in the last round. When beating Eibar by two goals to nil back in November, Gijon showed themselves to be useful going forward, while they were very disciplined defensively, as they gave up just 0.29 expected goals.
In addition to a rather lacklustre performance against Ebro in the previous round, Valencia haven’t exactly flourished away from home in La Liga this season. Marcelino’s men have won just two of their nine away games during the current campaign, while they’re currently without a win in three on the road. They’re averaging 1.2 expected goals on their travels and are shipping an average of 1.38.
Total Under