Valencia vs Real Madrid Predictions & Betting Tips

Real Madrid travel to the Mestalla to take on a Valencia side looking to close the gap on the top six in La Liga.

Date: 02/03/24

Kick-off time: 20:00

Venue: Mestalla Stadium

First meets eighth as Valencia hosts league leaders Real Madrid. The table toppers are currently eight points clear over their rivals Barcelona, with Girona a further point behind. A victory this weekend would put them in an extremely commanding position in the title race. However, defeat could slightly open the door for both of the teams below them.

Valencia, in contrast, are fighting for a European place. In eighth, they are four points behind Real Sociedad in sixth, with a game in hand. Three points would put them firmly in the hunt for a European spot, despite their inconsistent results of late. They have only won twice in the last five. A loss could see them fall all the way down to 10th. It will be a difficult task to beat their opponents, though, as Real have just one loss all season, and that came all the way back in September.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men have by far the league’s best defence, and are in the top three for goals scored. Top scorer Jude Bellingham will miss out through injury, but they can still rely on the services of Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior, who have found the back of the net 15 times between them so far. Valencia will hope that Hugo Duro can add to his tally of 10 goals against a stubborn Los Blancos backline.

In the last six meetings between these two sides, Real Madrid have enjoyed more success, winning four games. Valencia have won once, with the remaining fixture ending in a draw. This draw came in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup midway through last season. The now-departed Karim Benzema opened the scoring from the spot shortly before half time, but Samuel Lino equalised for Valencia immediately after the restart. This sent the tie to penalties, in which Real Madrid came out on top 4-3 to advance to the final.

The reverse fixture earlier this season ended in a dominant 5-1 win for Ancelotti’s side. Dani Carvajal’s third-minute goal set the tone, and they cruised from then on. Vinicius Junior doubled their lead before the break, then added a third shortly into the second half. Rodrygo also scored a brace. Striker Duro scored a late consolation.

Valencia

Diego Lopez is a doubt, having undergone surgery for a facial structure. This injury has kept him out for the last two games. Andre Almeida has been sidelined since October with a back injury, but he is now back in training. Thierry Correia suffered a thigh injury at the end of last month, and his return date is unclear.

Real Madrid

Jude Bellingham remains out with an ankle sprain. Joselu has an ankle injury that may keep him out for a couple of weeks. Both Dani Carvajal and Eduardo Camavinga will return following suspensions.

Valencia

In their last five games, Valencia have won two, lost two and drawn one. They were due to play Granada last weekend but this fixture was postponed. A 0-0 at home to Sevilla was their most recent game. Valencia had edged possession and dominated their visitors in terms of shot attempts but could not find the breakthrough. Sevilla had just one shot on target, which was their only attempt. This followed a 2-0 loss to Las Palmas, who sit just a place below them. They gave up 73% possession but looked like they were going to hold on for a draw, before Alex Suarez broke the deadlock in the 89th minute. Marc Codona put the game to bed with a second deep into stoppage time.

Valencia picked up their second win of this stretch against Almeria. Hugo Duro and Roman Yaremchuk both scored to put them 2-0 up before 25 minutes. The visitors pulled one back but they were not able to mount a comeback as the game finished 2-1. Their other win came against Athletic Bilbao in a narrow 1-0 victory. Duro netted the winner with half an hour to go. Sandwiched in between these two triumphs was a 2-0 away defeat to Atletico Madrid. It was a fairly even contest, but Atletico went into the break in front as Samuel Lino opened the scoring deep into stoppage time. Memphis Depay added a second shortly after the restart.

Real Madrid

In their last five games, Real Madrid have won three and drawn two. Unbeaten in seven games in all competitions, the league leaders have seen a slight dip in form as they dropped points in two games. Firstly against their city rivals Atletico Madrid as they drew 1-1. They were well on their way to victory through Brahim Diaz’s first-half opener. However, Atletico snatched a point at the death as Marcos Llorente found the back of the net in stoppage time.

They quickly got back to winning ways in a huge clash against their title challengers Girona. They put four past their opponents with Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo all on the scoresheet. Bellingham bagged a brace.

A return to Champions League action followed, as they travelled to Germany to take on RB Leipzig. They were victorious, winning 1-0, which puts them in a strong position heading into the second leg. They were lucky to not go a goal behind early on, but Brahim Diaz struck shortly after the break to give his side the lead.

League football was back on the agenda as they faced Rayo Vallecano away from home. But again it was dropped points as they drew 1-1. Joselu put Los Blancos ahead after just three minutes but the hosts were given a penalty to get back on level terms. Raul de Tomas converted from the spot to ensure the points were shared.

Their most recent outing came against Sevilla, and they maintained their lead at the top of the table with a 1-0 win, Luka Modric scoring the decisive goal late on.

Valencia have been inconsistent as of late which Real Madrid should take advantage of. The hosts will get on the scoresheet, but the visitors will have too much for them - Valencia 1-3 Real Madrid

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Valencia vs Real Madrid will be available to watch on Viaplay Sports Online.

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