Match Preview: Real Madrid vs Valencia – Matchday 13
Real Madrid returns to La Liga action tomorrow against Valencia. Here’s a look at what to look out for an expect ahead of tomorrow’s game.
Tomorrow Real Madrid will face off against Valencia as Matchday 14 kicks off at the Santiago Bernabeu. Los Blanco’s are coming off a high after beating Roma 2-0 in the midweek for their fifth match of the group stage.
Real Madrid has a tough task ahead of them as Valencia has been a tough opponent in recent years. While they sit in 11th place in the table that is no reason for Madrid to take them lightly. The opposition’s position in the table has duped the team several times this season, such as losing to Eibar in La Liga and CSKA Moscow in the Champions League.
Los Blancos sit in sixth place and are in desperate need of points as league leaders Barcelona are ahead by 6 points. It may not seem a lot but every match counts when it comes to a league competition.
Santiago Solari will be missing two members of the squad tomorrow making his selection a little trickier. In addition, all eyes will be on Isco to see if he gets any playing time after the mayhem that ensued during the midweek. Rumour suggests that the manager and star have had a falling out.
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While Real Madrid has scored 9 more goals than their opponents they’ve also conceded ten more. The defence will be key considering Valencia’s bolstering attack. With Casemiro out it will be interesting to see who Solari fields as a CDM. As we’ve seen in the past two matches a strong CDM is key to Madrid’s success.
The man who starts between the sticks tomorrow will also be under scrutiny as Keylor Navas has been kept out as of late. Navas had a procedure done on his knees during the international break to clean up the joints but has been training with the first time. Despite appearing match fit and ready he did not get the start against Roma, could that change tomorrow?
Madrid has been lethargic this season in the final third, getting things going early one will be key to this match. As could be seen in the match against Roma, Madrid came close to going down in the first half. Had they scored that could have shaped the game very differently.