- Valencia are winless in 4 LaLiga 2026/2027 home games (1 Draw, 3 defeats), scoring just 2 goals on their own patch.
- Valencia have won 1, drawn 1 and lost 3 of their last 5 games and are in a precarious position in the LaLiga 2026/2027 table.
Valencia still in choppy waters
Valencia CF enter Saturday's Valencian derby at home to Villarreal CF in pretty poor form and with an air of desperation about them. Javier Aguirre's initial impact on the club has been to add urgency, steel and a more direct and pragmatic approach to their play, which could yet keep the ship afloat at Mestalla, but they still appear to be in choppy water.
Los Che are 19th in the table after taking just five points from their first eight LaLiga 2026/2027 games. Their latest results are one 2-3 home defeat to Real Sociedad and a 2-2 away draw to Racing Santander and they have yet to really find their groove in any department.
Aaron Mayol has been a useful addition in central midfield for Valencia, but he is their top scorer with one goal from two LaLiga appearances. So they may look to be in trouble at the weekend and will have to improve their attacking output if they can turn this around.
Villarreal have some bite and control
Villarreal are in better shape having picked up 9 points from their opening 9 games in the league to leave them 9th and closer to the top-half. El Submarino Amarillo are a workmanlike side that can get their noses in front of the opposition and are tough to break down with Iñigo Pérez's men looking compact, well-drilled and dangerous when released into transition.
Pape Gueye is their current star man and leading LaLiga 2026/2027 scorer with three goals in seven games. He can be a box office player on his day and will likely be the biggest threat to the Valencia goal. Villarreal's away record of one win, two draws and two defeats is nothing to write home about, but they have scored 1.40 and conceded 1.40 per game on their travels, which is respectable.
Submarino could nick it
There's backing for Villarreal here at 2.12, which is a shade of odds on from Valencia at 3.15 with the draw coming in at 3.55. Villarreal have more form and have a good recent record in this derby, but the draw is the best play here as both teams to score and over 2.5 goals look likely, albeit not massive value at BTTS Yes at 1.6 and Over 2.5 at 1.7.
Back the visitors to edge it in what should be a tense and nervy affair at Estadio Mestalla. Los Che will try to grind it out and it will be their first response to the crisis they find themselves in, but Villarreal are the sharper of the two sides and deserve to nick it.
