Real Madrid will be seeking to go back to winning ways when they host Valencia at the Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday night.
Los Blancos are one of just two Spanish top-flight clubs yet to lose at home this season, while Los Che have won just one of their eight league away games.
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Real Madrid can ill-afford to drop any more points during the second half of the campaign, but Ancelotti and co will be confident of bouncing back with a victory over a struggling Valencia outfit.
The 35-time La Liga champions have also won 11 and drawn five of their last 16 meetings with Valencia at the Bernabeu, last losing against them on home soil back in March 2008 – a game which saw David Villa score a brace in a 3-2 win for Los Che. After just seven months in charge at the Mestalla, Valencia confirmed on Monday that head coach Gennaro Gattuso has left the club by mutual consent.
Valencia ultimately came to the decision to part ways with Gattuso after the Italian won only two games out of eight in all competitions since the World Cup break, losing three of his last four league fixtures including Sunday’s 1-0 away loss against Real Valladolid – a game which saw Cyle Larin net a 90th-minute winner.
Valencia have struggled throughout this season, but their form away from home in particular has been a major concern for almost a year, as they have won only three of their last 16 matches on the road, dating back to March 2022.
Team News
Real Madrid left-back Ferland Mendy is set for around two months on the sidelines after sustaining a hamstring injury in the Copa del Rey win over rivals Atletico Madrid last week, while Lucas Vazquez remains out with a sprained ankle.
However, Ancelotti confirmed over the weekend that David Alaba, Aurelien Tchouameni (both calf) and Dani Carvajal (muscle) should all be available to return after spells out through injury, and the former could be handed a start at left-back in the absence of Mendy.
Eduardo Camavinga operated a left-back last time out, but he is expected to compete with Tchouameni and Dani Ceballos for a place in midfield, while Luka Modric will likely return to the first XI after beginning on the bench last time out.
2022 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema – who has scored in each of his last seven La Liga matches against Valencia, netting nine goals overall – is set to lead the line and could be supported in attack by Vinicius Junior and one of Rodrygo or Federico Valverde.
As for Valencia, Jaume Domenech and Nico Gonzalez are both ruled out with respective knee and foot injuries, while Thierry Correia has missed the last four matches with a muscle problem and remains doubtful.
Probabilities
| Real Madrid (53.6%) | Draw (21.0) | Valencia (25.4%) |
Prediction
| Real Madrid 2-1 Valencia |
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