Real Madrid are very much back in the La Liga title race now, as they currently sit second in the table, only point behind Atletico. And the next match on the docket, the very first of 2025, is a trip to Valencia CF, who are squarely in the relegation zone. In other words, all signs point to a runaway win here.
La Liga took the holidays off, so all the sides will be well rested when play resumes this weekend.
Real Madrid at Valencia CF FYIs
Kickoff: Fri. Jan. 3, 9pm, Mestalla
La Liga Position, Form: Real Madrid 2nd, 40 pts, WLWDW Osasuna 19th, 21 pts, LLLDD
Google Result Probability: Real Madrid 69% Draw 19% Osasuna 12%
For Los Blancos, this will be their first game in 12 whole days.
Real Madrid Team News
Nothing new here, Madrid remains without the services of their cruciate ligament tear trio: Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao and David Alaba.
Otherwise there are no fitness concerns right now, so let’s just get to picking who manager Carlo Ancelotti might go with, in his first team here.
Real Madrid Starting XI Prediction at Valencia CF
Andriy Lunin; Lucas Vazquez, Aurelien Tchouameni, Antonio Rudiger, Eduardo Camavinga; Arda Guler, Luka Modric; Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr; Kylian Mbappe
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.