After watching Barcelona lose at home to Celta Vigo on Saturday, Valencia go into their derby clash with Villarreal at El Madrigal knowing they could soar into second spot in La Liga with a win.

Villarreal are still smarting after conceding a pair of late goals to throw away their game at Sevilla last week, while Valencia cruised to victory against Elche.

Prior to that, Valencia had turned in their worst performance of the season during an insipid three-goal defeat at struggling Deportivo.

Valencia defender Jose Luis Gaya wants to set the record straight after that lacklustre effort.

“We want to show that our last away game is forgotten about – a blip,” Gaya said. “We want to change our dynamic away from home, go for the game and get the three points.”

Before their late collapse at Sevilla, Villarreal had been on a four-game winning streak in all competitions and coach Marcelino Garcia is expecting a tough test against their nearest rivals.

He said: “We are confident we can win but they are a good team with some great individuals. If we play at a high tempo then we are a tough team for any opponent.”

Villarreal finished ten points in front of Valencia last season but Los Che appear a much stronger proposition this time around and will be out to avenge the La Liga home and away defeats they suffered in the fixture last season.

Villarreal are 2.03 to make it three derby wins in a row with Valencia 3.51 and the draw 3.42