Real Madrid host Valencia for what will be their second game after the three-month quarantine due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Los Blancos earned a solid win against Eibar last Sunday and are still two points behind Barcelona in the table. With Messi and Co. having an arguably tougher schedule than Madrid, Zidane’s men must find a way to keep taking care of business every single game.
Valencia have struggled this season but are still a quality team. In fact, Real Madrid could only rescue a draw through a last-minute goal by Benzema on their visit to Mestalla last December. Diakhaby has been a liability on defense all season long and last weekend he cost Valencia a point. Unluckily enough for them, it looks like Celades will have to keep trusting him because of the many injuries Valencia have on the defensive line.
Madrid have the tools and the players to win and score the three points tonight, but it will require a big effort.
When Valencia fans start thinking about this Thursday’s La Liga Santander clash with Real Madrid, they’ll have painful memories of dramatic equalisers on their minds. One will be the 97th minute equaliser they conceded just days ago in their 1-1 draw to city rivals Levante. The other will be Karim Benzema’s 95th minute equaliser at Mestalla, assisted by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois when these two sides met back in December.
Valencia’s season has been full of ups and downs, yet so too has Real Madrid’s. With ten matches to go for each of these teams and the sides fighting for the La Liga title and European qualification respectively, there are no signs of the drama letting up when the historic rivals square off this Thursday evening.
Real Madrid are at the heart of the title race and need three points to try to keep pace with their rivals Barcelona. Not since 2017 have Real Madrid won the league title and coach Zinedine Zidane is determined to bring the trophy back to the capital.
Valencia, meanwhile, are pushing to try to qualify for European competition in 2020/21. They’re some way off the pace in the race for the top four, which entails Champions League qualification, and the two points they just threw away against Levante at the last gasp didn’t help. Yet Valencia finished last season strong, taking 21 points from their final 10 matches in 2018/19. Coach Albert Celades, who played from Real Madrid during his playing career, will therefore be confident of springing a surprise.
The visitor’s front line of Rodrigo Moreno and Maxi Gomez is one of the most potent attacking pairs in La Liga, with Rodrigo producing an excellent finish from a tight angle in the derby against Levante on Friday. Celades also has the über-talented duo of Goncalo Guedes and Ferran Torres to call on from the flanks and though both are coming off injuries they’ll be encouraged by the fact they’ve had two days rest more than Real Madrid.
Over Real Madrid, the enforced break due to Covid-19 has given forwards Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio time to recover from injury, despite previously being ruled out for the rest of the season. Zidane can also call on young Brazilian wingers Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior, whose unpredictability is always a wild card. At the other end is Thibaut Courtois, the Belgian international goalkeeper who’s currently leading the way in the race for La Liga’s top goalkeeper. And, if he does go up for a late set-piece, who knows what can happen!
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