clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Real Madrid Vs Valencia, Liga BBVA 2013-2014: Match Preview

Real Madrid will try to keep the streak going against a Valencia squad that lost a chance to advance to the UEFA Europe League Final on the 94th minute against Sevilla.

Martin Rose

Barcelona only managed to get a draw at home against Getafe, so they pretty much said good-bye to the Liga BBVA title. Now, Real Madrid need Atlético to drop points twice over three games (they're visiting Levante, playing at home against Málaga and going to the Camp Nou for the last match) in order to win the title. That is if Ancelotti's men can win all four games remaining against Valencia, Valladolid, Celta and Espanyol.

So basically, Real Madrid need quite a fair amount of good luck in order to win this Liga BBVA. The loss at home against Barcelona and then the 2-1 defeat at Sevilla were crucial. But thing is, Cristiano Ronaldo and company could use the remaining Liga BBVA games to get things completely ready for the Champions League Final against Atlético. The best training session for that kind of game is a competitive match against Spanish squads that will surely want to beat Real Madrid. Therefore, if Ancelotti's squad can avoid injuries and keep winning at the same time, everything will be set.

Without Luka Modric on the list (the Croatian midfielder should be fit soon, so no worries on that front), Ancelotti might want to give Asier Illarramendi a start. The Italian coach announced that Illarra will likely be Xabi Alonso's replacement, so it would be perfect if Illarramendi could start playing as a DM. But instead, Ancelotti will likely start Xabi Alonso in that three-man midfield alongside Illarramendi and probably Di María. Another option could be Isco, who could also use some minutes in order to reach the Champions League Final fully prepared to potentially change the match if needed.

Upfront, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Bale just need to score. They need to keep that confidence level sky-high, and if they can build some more chemistry along the process, the better for Carlo Ancelotti.

Arbeloa has not been included on the team list yet, but he should be ready soon. Therefore, Carvajal will start another game as Real's right back after dominating Bayern's Franck Ribéry. Yes, you read it. Carvajal single-handedly took care of the Bronze FIFA Ballon D'Or winner. Marcelo needs to start some matches to get in shape too, although it seems that the Brazilian defender has lost his starting spot to a brilliant Fàbio Coentrao. If Ancelotti is able to keep Marcelo on the bench, that's a very good offensive weapon to change the game if Real Madrid are failing at creating chances. Ramos and Pepe are playing so ridiculously well that it seems impossible for Varane to start. But the French defender and Nacho could give them some rest too. To lose either Ramos or Pepe for the Champions League Final would be devastating, so Ancelotti needs to be careful with both central defenders.

Valencia lost a big chance to play in the UEFA Europe League Final after losing against Sevilla last Thursday. The truth is Pizzi's team is not great at all, but they are capable of causing some damage. As a matter of fact, Real Madrid won away against Valencia thanks to a late goal by Jesé. Valencia beat FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou and only a huge mistake by reserve goalkeeper Guaita (Diego Alves is ready to start again) allowed Atlético de Madrid to get the three points at Mestalla last weekend.

With all those things in mind, Real Madrid should be able to beat Valencia and build some more momentum in the process.

Sign up for the newsletter Sign up for the Managing Madrid Daily Roundup newsletter!

A daily roundup of Real Madrid news from Managing Madrid