Fresh from their European humiliation, Real Madrid will seek to bounce back when they travel to face Valencia on Sunday.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side were woefully second-best as they fell to a 4-0 defeat to Manchester City and so, with the La Liga title already on its way to Camp Nou, the focus is now on ensuring Real finish ahead of city rivals Atletico Madrid.
Real will need an immediate response against a Valencia side who, despite sitting 14th in the table, are just three points clear of the relegation zone heading into the weekend and will definitely come out with a point to prove.
Here’s all you need to know about this one.
Valencia vs Real Madrid H2H Results (Last Five Games)
Current Form (Last Five Games)
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Country |
TV Channel/Live Stream |
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United Kingdom |
Viaplay Sports 1 / LaLigaTV |
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United States |
ESPN+ |
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Canada |
TSN+ |
Valencia team news
Valencia’s starting centre-backs from their last outing, Gabriel Paulista and Mouctar Diakhaby, are both suspended. The former was sent off and the latter has now racked up too many yellow cards. They’ll join the injured Cristhian Mosquera and Marcos Andre on the sidelines.
Edinson Cavani and Thierry Correia, however, are back from suspensions of their own.
(4-2-3-1): Mamardashvili; Correia, Comert, Ozkacar, Gaya; Gonzalez, Guerra; Kluivert, Almeida, Lino; Cavani
Real Madrid team news
The only concern for Ancelotti is the fitness of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who played through a triceps injury against Man City and could be awarded a well-earned rest here.
(4-3-3): Lunin; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Tchouameni, Valverde, Camavinga; Asensio, Benzema, Vinicius
Valencia are in some decent form right now and will have taken some tips from City about how to beat Los Blancos. While they don’t have the technical quality to replicate Pep Guardiola’s side, they can try and match their physicality.
However, if Ancelotti does make changes and freshen up his midfield, Real should still fancy themselves to control this game.
With confidence at a real low, Real won’t be the dominant force we all know they are capable of, but they should get through this one.
Prediction: Valencia 1-2 Real Madrid
