Antoine Griezmann
Antoine Griezmann is Atletico Madrid's top scorer this season with 14 league goals Reuters

Gary Neville's resurgent Valencia face a test of their mettle against second-placed Atletico Madrid at the Mestalla on 6 March.

Where to watch live

Kick-off is set for 7.30pm GMT. The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports 2 HD.

Overview

Valencia bounced back from their home defeat against Athletic Bilbao by winning 2-1 at Malaga in midweek. The Mestalla outfit have won five of their last six matches in all competitions and are 19 points adrift of the Champions League spots at ninth in La Liga.

Argentine midfielder Enzo Perez is doubtful to feature after missing the Malaga clash with a calf problem. Aymen Abdennour (hamstring) may return but Zakaria Bakkali (groin) is out and Jose Luis Gaya is suspended.

Atletico Madrid followed up their famous win over arch rivals Real Madrid by beating Real Sociedad 3-0 at the Vicente Calderon in midweek. Diego Simeone's side beat Valencia 2-1 in the reverse fixture in October through goals from Jackson Martinez and Yannick Carrasco.

Centre-back Diego Godin is likely to start after recovering from a muscular problem, while Yannick Carrasco (ankle) could return. Midfielder Augusto Fernandez serves a one-match ban for accumulating five yellow cards.

What managers say

Gary Neville: "Tonight feels really important. In my message to the players this afternoon I said let's make sure we don't let 10 bad minutes on Saturday take away the fact we'd won previous four games. Let's get back on track and win tonight [against Malaga]. It takes us into Sunday's game in a good frame of mind. You know it will be a difficult game, one I am looking forward to, that players have already started preparing for. We want to play as we did in first 70 minutes against Bilbao, but take chances we get in the game."

Diego Simeone: "My idea is to win, I don't know any other. What you look for on the pitch is the best characteristics of each player to reach your objective in the game, which is to win. When you come to a club you have players you have not signed. If you have Barcelona's players, you play differently than if you have those of Inter."

Form guide

  • Valencia (all competitions): WLWWW
  • Last result: Malaga 1-2 Valencia
  • Atletico Madrid (all competitions): WWDDW
  • Last result: Atletico Madrid 3-0 Real Sociedad

Betting odds (888sport)

  • Valencia win: 10/3
  • Draw: 9/4
  • Atletico Madrid win: 1

Team news

Valencia possible XI: Alves; Cancelo, Mustafi, Abdennour, Siqueira; Parejo, Perez, Gomes; Mina, Alcacer, Cheryshev

Atletico Madrid possible XI: Oblak; Juanfran, Gimenez, Godin, Luis; Koke, Gabi, O Torres, Saul; Vietto, Griezmann

Atletico Madrid