Valencia host Real Madrid on the 18th matchday of the Spanish Primera. This is going to one thrilling encounter as both the teams would want to get those 3 points to their name, with both the coaches trying to prove their mettle and consolidating their positions in their respective clubs.
Having no win to account for since his arrival at the Mastella stadium, former Manchester United star Gary Neville will hope to take advantage of Real Madrid’s bad form in away games, 2 losses out of 3 away games; and register his first win of the season. While Real Madrid are playing a catching game with the table toppers Barcelona and city rivals Atletico, Valencia occupy the 10th position in the league with 22 points from 17 games. For both the teams, this weekend encounter is potentially a must win game, for Madrid to consolidate their position in the league and for Valencia to start their winning run if they have to ensure a Champions League berth next season.
The game will be played at the Mastella stadium on 3rd January from 19:30 BST (1:00 IST 4th January)
Here is the preview of the game along with the team news, predicted line ups, predictions and betting odds.
Team News
Real Madrid will relatively unchanged from their 3-1 win over Real Sociedad with just an addition of a certain Sergio Ramos who is said to be fit and is likely to start the game on Sunday. Kroos who came from injury and had an average game at the Santiago Bernabeu is likely to feature in the starting 11 along with James who also has made his return after a long injury spell. The Los Blancos will rely heavily on the attacking force of the BBC to get them a much needed away win with the trio coming into the foray scoring 10 goals among themselves in the past 2 games. Though Carvajal seems to be fit and running, Benitez is likely to go for Danilo at the back and give the Spaniard a little more time to find his footing.
For the Bats, Zakaria is still confined to the sidelines because of an injury and the job of filling in for him and scoring the essential goals falls on the shoulders of Rodrigo De Paul and Santi Mina. The injury list is long for Gary Neville with Alves, Enzo and Feghouli also battling injuries and thus missing out on the Sunday action. But there is light at the end of the tunnel as Daniel Parejo becomes available to take his position in the midfield.
Expected Line ups
Valencia line up: Jaume, Cancelo, Mustafi, Abdennour, Gaya; Parejo, Gomes, Danilo; De Paul, Alcacer, Mina
Real Madrid line up: Navas, Danilo, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo; Kroos, Modric, James; Bale, Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo
Betting odds
The game being the home game for the Bats, the odds are in the favour of the United defender as Madrid don’t boast of a good away record this season which the 10 time Champions League winners will set out to change on Sunday.
Valencia: 6
Draw: 4.33
Real Madrid: 1.53
Predictions
Valencia hasn’t lost any match in the last 20 games they have played at home and Madrid on the other hand have lost 2 of their last 3 away games, thus tipping the scale in the favour of the Los Che. Another thing to be kept in the mind is that despite an average form this season, Valencia have emerged victorious at least 4 times in the last 5 encounters against the Whites across all formats and this match arguably in that light proves to be a test for the Los BLancos and losing this will potentially hamper their title hopes and Rafa Benitez’s position this season.
Our prediction
Valencia 1-2 Real Madrid