Valencia Vs Real Madrid Prediction: Los Blancos Prepare The Top Coup Of The Standings

Fede Valverde, ready to win the Spabyol League standings for Real Madrid (photo: x @fedevalverde)

JAKARTA Real Madrid will face challenges from Valencia at Mestala, Friday night, January 3, in their bid to win the top spot in the La Liga standings. Currently, Los Blancos are in second place with 40 points, only one point adrift of Atletico Madrid leading the standings.

Valencia, on the other hand, are struggling to get out of the relegation zone after collecting 12 points from 17 matches. Even so, Los Che still have a chance to survive, considering they are only four points adrift of Getafe in 17th place with one game in hand.

Valencia have never won in the last five matches of La Liga, with a record of two draws and three defeats. However, they had a positive record against Real Madrid at Mestala, with four points from the last two meetings, including a 2-2 draw last season.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid showed a more stable performance. The 4-2 win over Sevilla before the winter break brought them to the race for the title. Despite not appearing consistent, Carlo Ancelotti's side's quality remains a serious threat to his opponents.

Valencia will play without several key players. Jose Gaya, Mouctar Diakhaby, and Thierry Correia were sidelined due to injury, while Fran Perez was doubtful. In addition, goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili is most likely unable to play, so the position of goalkeeper will be filled by Stole Dimitrievski. Pepelu also could not perform due to the accumulation of yellow cards.

In the Real Madrid camp, Vinicius Junior returned to the squad after missing Sevilla due to suspension. David Alaba, Eder Militao, and Dani Carvajal are still absent, although Alaba has shown progress in his injury recovery. Ancelotti is predicted to field Fran Garcia and Vinicius as starters to replace Dani Ceballos and Brahim Diaz.

With the quality and depth of the squad that Real Madrid has, this match is a great opportunity for them to take over the top spot of the standings. However, Valencia cannot be underestimated, especially when playing in front of its own supporters.

Valencia: Dimitrievski; Foulquier, Mosquera, Gasiorowski, Rioja; Barrenechea, Guerra; D Gomez, Almeida, D Lopez; Duro.

Real Madrid: Courtois; Vazquez, Tchouameni, Rudiger, F Garcia; Camavinga, Valverde; Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappe.