HP Terbaru 2023 – Valencia and Real Madrid headline the weekend round in LaLiga

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By Ross Kilvington

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The home side are on a two-game winless streak, having suffered a Copa del Rey exit in midweek to Athletic Club. A dramatic finale saw Iñaki Williams send the Basque side through to the semi-finals.

With one side going for the title while the other is battling relegation, the two clubs are separated by a staggering 31 points (written ahead of Saturday’s fixtures).

Real Madrid finally showing some form of late

Álvaro Arbeloa didn’t exactly get off to the best of starts at Real after taking over from Xabi Alonso. The club suffered a shock loss to Albacete in the Copa del Rey last month in his first game.

Since then, however, Los Blancos have suffered just one defeat. That came against José Mourinho’s Benfica in the Champions League.

Domestically, the club have won their previous three league matches to keep pace with Barcelona at the top of the table.

The Catalan side have a slim one-point advantage, but this could be extended to four points should they defeat Mallorca on Saturday afternoon.

Kylian Mbappé has scored eight goals across his last five matches and Arbeloa will be hoping he can help secure all three points for Madrid this Sunday evening.

Valencia are in a relegation dogfight

This year marks 25 years since Valencia reached a second consecutive Champions League final.

Fast forward a quarter of a century later and the club are in real danger of being relegated to the second tier.

The club have won just five of their 22 LaLiga matches this season, scoring just 23 goals in the process.

A quarter-final exit in the cup summed up their season. With the tie deep into injury time, Williams was on the receiving end of a delightful cross into the Valencia penalty area and slotted home the winner.

Valencia lost the reverse fixture 4-0 back in November and the last time they claimed victory against Real at the Mestalla was in May 2023.

The odds are certainly stacked against them this weekend.

Team news

Arbeloa is going to be without the services of Jude Bellingham, who is suffering with a hamstring injury.

Ferland Mendy and Éder Militão will also be absent, but Trent Alexander-Arnold and Antonio Rüdiger could make the squad.

Vinícius Júnior misses the clash due to suspension, having picked up another booking against Rayo Vallecano last time out.

The home side have several players out injured. José Copete, Guido Rodríguez, Thierry Correia, Julen Agirrezabala and Mouctar Diakhaby will miss the game against Real.

Elsewhere, Cristian Rivero and Joel Fontanet are suspended for the match.

Prediction

Real will likely be trailing Barcelona by four points by the time they take to the pitch on Sunday evening.

Anything other than a victory will give their rivals a major advantage in the title race. As such, expect a straightforward win on Sunday.

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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