Valencia vs. Real Madrid: A Mismatch at the Mestalla?

Real Madrid will aim for their third consecutive league victory when they head to the Mestalla to face crisis club Valencia on Sunday.

Los Blancos picked up a fantastic 3-1 victory over Barcelona in El Clasico a couple of weeks ago, and followed it up by beating Huesca 4-1.

They also managed to beat Inter in a huge Champions League game on Wednesday, so confidence levels should be high in the Real Madrid camp.

The most encouraging development for manager Zinedine Zidane is the return of Eden Hazard. Injury problems have restricted the former Chelsea winger to a limited number of appearances since his €160 million move last summer, but he is now back in the starting 11, causing all sorts of problems for opposing defenders.

A Fallen Giant

Real Madrid should relish the opportunity to face Valencia. The Andalusian club sacked manager Albert Celades after a disappointing 2019/20 campaign, and put the entire squad up for sale.

Rodrigo, Dan Parejo, Francis Coquelin and Ferran Torres all left, while Geoffrey Kondogbia has just secured a transfer to Atletico Madrid.

The results have been predictably disastrous for Valencia. New manager Javi Gracia has tried his best to restore order, but they have lost four out of eight matches so far, and sit just three points above the relegation zone.

A Dynamic Attack

Real Madrid romped to the title last term, and they are odds-on favourites to win La Liga again this time around.

They look a lot more dangerous with Hazard and Marco Asensio either side of Karim Benzema in attack, and they remain pretty solid in defence.

Real Madrid really should leave the Mestalla with all three points on Sunday. They have had plenty of time to recover from their exploits against Inter, and they are coming up against a dejected side.

Valencia have taken just one point from their last four games, and they look no match for their opponents.

Tip: Real Madrid to win and over 1.5 goals

Stake: One Unit