Venue: Mestalla Date: 03/01/2016, Kick-off: 7:30 PM GMT / 02:30 PM EST,
Television:Sky,Sports 3/HD; beIN Sports en Español, beIN Sports USA
Streaming: fuboTV (USA), Sky Go (UK)
La Liga is back in 2016 with the weekend’s most exciting match. Real Madrid and Valencia will meet once again to revisit an already classic battle of Spanish giants. Both teams aren’t going through the best of times, as Los Blancos are playing in a way that’s not easy on the eyes. On the other hand, Los Che are struggling in the league as they sit 10th and they were already sent to the Europa League recently.
Real Madrid Team News
Dani Carvajal and Sergio Ramos are the only news the team was waiting to hear, and both will be available. On top of that, they are shaping up to start the match given Danilo’s bad form and Nacho’s limited experience in tough matches. Raphaël Varane had already rejoined the list on Wednesday, still he didn’t play a single minute, meaning he should be ready to start now.
Los Blancos must start the year right after failing to convince anyone this season. Poor results, bad performances and an unacceptable attitude at times have harmed the squad and coach’s reputation. Last year they lost at Mestalla and 2015 became a tragedy. Winning is the only option, as they’re still two points behind Atlético, and they could end up five behind Barça if they win the Catalan derby against Espanyol.
Valencia Team News
Rodrigo Moreno is fully recovered and available. Zakaria Bakkali and Enzo Pérez seemed they might join the list, but will remain out of this game. Feghouli, Mustafi and Gayà stay out. Valencia said goodbye to La Liga with a 1-0 loss against Villarreal. They’re still a bit down from the European spots in 10th place, yet a win over Real would mean three points and a significant boost to the team’s morale.
New coach Gary Neville hasn’t brought the team the results the club expected. Under the Englishman they’ve only won once, tied twice and lost twice. Things need to get better quick if they hope to replicate Nuno’s incredible 2014-15 campaign. What’s clear is that Valencia should never be ruled out, as they always manage to complicate things to the other big teams in the country.
