Valencia face Real Madrid in La Liga

Valencia are set to host Real Madrid in a La Liga match at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia, Spain, on Saturday, November 7, at 9pm (20:00 GMT). Jose Mourinho’s Madrid side travel to the venue aiming for a victory that would provisionally place them level on points with league leaders Barcelona. Madrid currently sit third in the La Liga table, trailing the leaders by three points, while the Catalan club are scheduled to face second-placed Atletico on Sunday.

Despite experiencing some inconsistencies earlier in the campaign, Madrid have secured seven consecutive victories across all competitions. This run includes four league wins and a success over Barcelona in El Clasico, following a 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid in September. Conversely, Valencia are seeking to revitalise their season as they occupy the second-bottom position in the table, having accumulated only nine points from their opening 11 matches.

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho praised Jude Bellingham following the midfielder’s impressive back-heeled goal against AEK Athens in the Champions League on Wednesday. During the match, Bellingham became the youngest player to reach 60 appearances in the top European club competition, scoring once and earning the player of the match award in a 3-2 victory. Mourinho described the England midfielder as a unique player who is complete on all levels.

He stated, “I don’t have many words because, for me, he is an absolutely extraordinary player. Even on a day when he doesn’t have a great match, one of those jaw-dropping performances, he still brings work, leadership, ambition, quality, and goal-scoring ability. He is an extraordinary player.”

Bellingham, who was previously the youngest player to make 50 appearances, set this new milestone at 23 years and 128 days old, surpassing former Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas. He scored in the 32nd minute after meeting a cross from Marc Cucurella to flick a shot past Alberto Brignoli. Reflecting on the goal, Bellingham said, “It was just instinct really. I found myself in a good position and managed to do the only thing that came naturally in that position. It was a nice one.”

Valencia manager Javier Aguirre noted that his team needed their recent victory over Elche, which was secured by a second-half goal from substitute Nigerian striker Sadiq. Aguirre remarked, “It’s a very important win for us, because we’d come off three matches without a victory, and now we have Real Madrid CF coming up. We couldn’t afford to get cut adrift.” He added that because Getafe CF and RCD Espanyol both won, failing to secure the result would have created a large gap. He termed the result very significant in terms of performance and outcome.

Regarding the upcoming meeting, Mourinho observed that the fixture is one of the toughest in the Spanish league, noting that Valencia’s coach is highly experienced with a clear philosophy. Aguirre commented that his side does not require extra motivation when playing one of the world's best teams, expressing hope for a good performance. The Opta supercomputer currently lists Real Madrid as favourites with a 70.4 percent win probability, compared to 12.7 percent for Valencia and 16.9 percent for a draw.

In their previous encounter in February, Real Madrid won 2-0 at Valencia with second-half goals from Alvaro Carreras and Kylian Mbappe. While Madrid dominated possession, Valencia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski was rarely tested until the 65th minute when Carreras broke the deadlock, followed by Mbappe’s stoppage-time goal.

For Valencia, players Sergi Canos, Diego Lopez, and David Otorbi are unavailable due to injuries, while Jose Manuel Copete is a doubt with a knee issue. Harvey Elliott returns from suspension and Sadiq is expected to start following a hamstring injury. The predicted Valencia XI is: Dimitrievski; Martinez, Tarrega, Pepelu, Gaya; Rodriguez; Maffeo, Mayol, Guerra, Rioja; Sadiq.

Real Madrid will be without the injured Rodrygo, Raul Asencio, and Ferland Mendy, while Vinicius Junior is serving the final game of a domestic suspension. The predicted Real Madrid XI is: Courtois; Valverde, Konate, Huijsen, Cucurella; Tchouameni, Bernardo; Guler, Bellingham, Diomande; Mbappe.