La Liga 2013-14 | ||
Real Madrid C.F. |
vs | Valencia CF |
ScheduleSunday, 4 May 2014 at 19:00 GMT / 20:00 UK / 00:30 IST VenueSantiago Bernabéu (Madrid) |
Next Sunday, Real Madrid will entertain Valencia at Santiago Bernabéu for round 36 of Liga BBVA on what will certainly be one of the most exciting matches of the weekend in Spain.
Real Madrid are currently enjoying a very good moment at La Liga. After two consecutive defeats, first at home against Barcelona and one week later at Sanchez Pizjuan against Sevilla, Los Blancos bounced back and entered on an excellent winning streak, during which they have score seventeen goals and conceded none so far. Last weekend, Real Madrid hammered Osasuna at Bernabéu 4-0 with fantastic goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, who made his first appearance against the Pamplona side after returning from injury.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side looks very confident at the moment, especially after conquering the Copa del Rey against Barcelona and defeating Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich at home for the semi-finals first leg of the UEFA Champions League.
The match against Valencia will certainly not be easy, particularly if we consider that Los Che have managed to win at Camp Nou this season and, although being quite inconsistent at times, they tend to be a very dangerous team.
For next Sunday’s match, Carlo Ancelotti will still not be able to count on the German midfielder Sami Khedira, on the Spanish defender Arbeloa and on the skilled Jesé Rodriguez, who is slowly recovering from his long term injury.
As for Valencia, los Che are probably not at their best moment, despite the good performance they managed to put up against Atlético last weekend. Juan Antonio Pizzi’s boys have lost twice recently, first at Andalusia (for the UEFA Europa League) against Sevilla and then last weekend against the league leaders - Atlético Madrid.
The match against Real Madrid does not come at the best of times if one considers the amount of complicated matches Los Che have been facing recently. With only remote chances of catching Villarreal at the 7th place of the table, Valencia will certainly not play in the UEFA Europa League next season, which will surely represent a major upset for the club.
For next weekend’s match at Bernabéu, Juan Antonio Pizzi will still not be able to count on the Brazilian goalkeeper Diego Alves, who is still sidelined due to a long term injury, and he is not certain if Senderos, Victor Ruíz, and Bernat will be fully fit for the match.
When both sides met at Mestalla last December, Real Madrid grabbed a fantastic 3-2 win on a tremendous match that could have gone either way. Next Sunday, Real Madrid are clearly favourites for the match but they cannot let their guard down, otherwise, Valencia might cause them a major upset as they did at Camp Nou against Barcelona.
Real Madrid
Stats: W-26 L-4 D-4
Recent Form - LWWWW
Valencia
Stats: W-12 L-14 D-9
Recent Form - LDWDL
Possible Line-ups
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1) – D. López - Carvajal - Varane - Sergio Ramos - Marcelo - Modric - Illarramendi - Bale - Isco - Ronaldo - Benzema
Valencia (4-2-3-1) - Guaita - Barragán - Mathieu - Rubén Vezo - Bernat - Oriol Romeu - Javi Fuego - Vargas - Piatti - Jonas - P. Alcácer
Prediction
Real Madrid 2 Valencia 1
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