Real Madrid: 5 players who must shine against Valencia in Supercup

Real Madrid will face Valencia on Wednesday night in their first Spanish Supercup matchup, and here are five players who will need to shine in order for Los Blancos to get the win this time.

Last month, Real Madrid faced off against Valencia at the Mestalla, and they were a couple of big saves from Thibaut Courtois away from losing to one of La Liga’s best teams. But Los Blancos found a way to pull a rabbit out of the hat, scoring on a last-gasp corner after Courtois’ header on target led to Karim Benzema putting away a scrappy, point-saving goal.

Although the Spanish Supercup isn’t as important to Real as La Liga, Los Blancos are all about achieving excellence and will want to win this trophy, too.

Here are five players who will need to shine in order for Los Merengues to pick up a win over a tough Valencia side in Saudi Arabia.

GK Thibaut Courtois

Thibaut Courtois has been excellent since mid-October, and he’s really put in some MVP-level performances over the past several games. He had a game-saving stop on Ferran Torres the first time these two teams played, but even his performance at the Mestalla paled in comparison to his game against Getafe on Saturday.

The Belgian star pulled three saves straight out of the top drawer against Getafe, including one particularly jaw-dropping stop of a thunderous volley. Courtois is playing with great confidence, and he could single-handedly be the difference between victory and defeat on Wednesday by making a couple of more highlight-reel saves. Nobody is doubting this man now.