Real Madrid vs Valencia will be a humdinger
LaLiga Santander clash with Real Madrid, they'll have painful memories of dramatic equalisers on their minds.
With these two sides still fighting hard for the title and European qualification respectively, goalkeepers assisting dramatic last-minute equalisers and some of the best strikers in LaLiga on show, this is one you won’t want to miss when Valencia fans start thinking about the recent
One will be the 97th-minute equaliser they conceded just days ago in their 1-1 draw to city rivals Levante.
The other will be Karim Benzema’s 95th-minute equaliser at Mestalla, assisted by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois when these two sides met back in December.
Valencia’s season has been full of ups and downs, yet so too has Real Madrid’s.
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With 10 matches to go for each of these teams, there are no signs of the drama letting up when the historic rivals square off this Thursday evening.
Real Madrid is at the heart of the title race and needs three points to try to keep pace with its rivals Barcelona.
Not since 2017 have Real Madrid won the league title and coach Zinedine Zidane is determined to bring the trophy back to the capital. Valencia, meanwhile, is pushing to try to qualify for European competition in 2020/21.
They’re some way off the pace in the race for the top four, which entails Champions League qualification, and the two points they just threw away against Levante at the last gasp didn’t help.
Yet Valencia finished last season strong, taking 21 points from their final 10 matches in 2018/19.
Coach Albert Celades, who played from Real Madrid during his playing career, will, therefore, be confident of springing a surprise.
The visitor’s front line of Rodrigo Moreno and Maxi Gómez is one of the most potent attacking pairs in LaLiga, with Rodrigo producing an excellent finish from a tight angle in the derby against Levante on Friday.
Celades also has the über-talented duo of Gonçalo Guedes and Ferran Torres to call on from the flanks and though both are coming off injuries they’ll be encouraged by the fact they’ve had two days rest more than Real Madrid.
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Over Real Madrid, the enforced break due to Covid-19 has given forwards Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio time to recover from injury, despite previously being ruled out for the rest of the season.
Zidane can also call on young Brazilian wingers Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior, whose unpredictability is always a wild card. At the other end is Thibaut Courtois, the Belgian international goalkeeper who’s currently leading the way in the race for LaLiga’s top goalkeeper.
And, if he goes up for a late set-piece, who knows what can happen!
It’s anyone’s guess what’ll happen this time around, as both teams look for three points to help with their different ambitions.
Another interesting side note for this game: it’ll be played at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium, usually the home ground of Real Madrid’s reserve side Castilla, as the Santiago Bernabeu undergoes under construction work.
