After a 2-1 loss at Juventus midweek in Champions League play, Real Madrid hosts Valencia as they look to keep their La Liga titles hopes alive amidst a strike looming in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, Valencia look to complete an unprecedented double over Real Madrid as a win and a Sevilla loss would essentially lock up a Champions League spot for them.

It was a disappointing showing on Tuesday for the reigning Champions League winners as they looked a clear half-step slower than Juventus as former Blanco Alvaro Morata and Argentine Carlos Tevez on either side of Cristiano Ronaldo’s header to put them one step closer to a Champions League Finals appearance.

Real Madrid would be hard sought on their showing on Tuesday after a thrilling 3-2 win against Sevilla. It was no other than the star man himself, Cristiano Ronaldo, who was the difference maker for them with another La Liga hat trick to add to his tally. Sevilla made it close with goals from Carlos Bacca and Iborra, but the visitors would hold on to keep Barcelona within an arm's reach for the title.

Valencia moved one step closer to clinching the all-important fourth placed spot for Champions League with their 3-1 victory over Eibar. Otamendi kicked off the scoring for the home team. Parejo and Alcacer finished it off for them while Arruabarrena picked up a consolation goal for the visitors.

It was quite the affair when these two teams met back in January. Real Madrid just came off of a Club World Cup title along with a big-money friendly in Dubai during their winter break and looked to extend their win streak to 23 games. Ronaldo kicked off the scoring for them, but Barragan and Otamendi scored in a span of three minutes to upset Real Madrid and snatch three points, ending their 22-game win streak. With quite high stakes on the line for both clubs, look for some conservative play early on. However, play should pick up once a team finds a back of the net and look for Real to push for all three points once again even if down late.

Team News

Valencia: Gaya, Otamendi, and Diego Alves are back in training for the hosts. All three should be fit for Saturday’s game.

Real Madrid: Striker Karim Benzema is also back in training for the visitors after missing out on their loss to Juventus.

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About the author
Noel John Alberto
Filipino-American sports journalist from Toms River, NJ. UMBC Graduate and aspiring physical therapist. Tennis editor and multi-sport coordinator for VAVEL USA. Writer for Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Serie A sections of VAVEL UK. Sports aficionado. Host of the On The Line tennis podcast.