Having recently met in the Spanish Super Cup, Real Madrid and Valencia square off in a rescheduled La Liga fixture on Thursday.
Real Madrid were held to a 0-0 home draw by Real Sociedad in their previous La Liga fixture. With the result leaving them five points behind leaders Barcelona, the task now will be to crank up the pressure on the Catalans and attempt to haul them back.
The draw with Sociedad highlights Real Madrid’s erratic form in recent weeks with the 3-1 defeat to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup a low point. However, Carlo Ancelotti’s men are still unbeaten in their last four matches and recently claimed a 3-1 extra-time victory over Atletico Madrid in the Copa Del Rey.
One positive for Real Madrid is that they are unbeaten at the Santiago Bernabeu this season. However, their defending remains suspect with just one clean sheet in their last eight home matches in La Liga.
Valencia's problems are much worse than Real Madrid’s as they have claimed just two wins from their last 10 matches across all competitions. They have been on a steady decline down the La Liga table and are now just one point above the relegation zone.
That poor run has led to sacking or manager Gennaro Gattuso with Voro Gonzalez placed in interim charge of the team. The task for the new gaffer will be masterminding a return to winning ways as Los Che suffered a 1-0 defeat at Real Valladolid in their previous La Liga fixture.
The defeat at Real Valladolid was the second straight La Liga away loss for Valencia, who were also beaten 2-1 by Villarreal. The result also extends Los Che’s winless run on the road to four La Liga matches.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have Real Madrid as overwhelming favourites with a home win priced at 4/9 by bet365. A victory for Valencia is valued at 13/2 by Coral while Unibet is offering odds of 4/1 for a draw.
Head to head
Real Madrid have a 36-14 advantage with 14 draws from 64 previous matches against Valencia. Los Blancos have won the last four meetings at the Santiago Bernabeu and also defeated Valencia on penalties in the Spanish Super Cup.
Players to watch
As always Karim Benzema will be the one to watch for Real Madrid as he looks to add to his nine La Liga goals this season. The French striker also has eight goals in his last six matches against Valencia and is priced at 10/11 with bet365.
Edinson Cavani has been in good form for Valencia this season and is their top scorer with five La Liga goals. Bet365 has the Uruguayan striker at odds of 7/2 to get to get on the score sheet on Thursday.
Anything else catch the eye?
There have been goals for both teams in the last three meetings and a similar outcome is priced at 6/7 with SBK. The last meeting at the Santiago Bernabeu produced over 3.5 goals, which is priced at 13/8 by BetVictor while bet365 is offering 8/13 for over 2.5 goals.
With Real Madrid priced at minimal odds for a straight victory, a win and over 2.5 goals could be considered at 21/20 with bet365. Los Blancos also scored in both halves in the last meeting at the Santiago Bernabeu and could be set for a repeat at 23/20 with Coral.
This La Liga match between Real Madrid and Valencia will be played on Feb 2, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Real Madrid vs Valencia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
