PreviewReal Madrid visits FC Valencia! Vinícius Júnior and Los Blancos will be going back to the Mestalla on Saturday (9 p.m.) for the first time since the racism scandal, where the action should at best revolve around football: Real can keep its lead at the top of the table stable – but the 27th matchday not only poses risks because of Vinícius.
Fotos: Getty Images“>Enlarge
Vinícius returns to the Mestalla with Real for the first time since the racism scandal – Fotos: Getty Images
the initial situation
Away at Mestalla! There was something there, right? Sure, of course! When Real Madrid played against FC Valencia, who were in acute danger of relegation, in May last year and lost 1-0, the game was overshadowed by a racism scandal: Vinícius Junior was discriminated against by several spectators in the Mestalla. Afterwards, the outcry was not only great in the football world, the scandal was even the subject of political debates. That the eyes will be on the 27th LaLiga matchday (9 p.m., in REAL TOTAL-Live ticker and at DAZN) automatically aimed at the Brazilian is guaranteed. Because the question that arises is: How will Valencia’s fans react to Vinícius? As a response to the misconduct last May, the Spanish football association RFEF imposed a temporary exclusion of fans from the south stand of the Mestallas and a fine of 45,000 euros for the club. And yet this time at Mestalla, not everything will revolve exclusively around Vinícius. „The idea is to play a good football game there against a strong opponent. I think Valencia thinks the same because that’s what teams and fans always want before a game.”said coach Carlo Ancelotti in advance, although he confirmed: „We must not forget what happened last year, because when there are racist incidents we have to condemn them and identify the people.” Real Madrid travels to Valencia as league leaders. The Royals lead the table with 65 points after 26 games; Chasers FC Girona, in action in Mallorca on Sunday (6.30 p.m.), are six points behind the Madrilenians. Will Los Blancos get their 21st league win of the current season? When looking back at the recent past, doubts are certainly justified: the Merengues have lost five of their nine guest games at the Mestalla in the last ten seasons – since 2014/15, the Spanish record champions have suffered more away defeats there in the Primera División than in any other stadium away from home . Real Madrid clearly won the duel in this first series at the Estadio Santiago 5-1.
The opponent
Valencia FC could achieve something remarkable against Real on Saturday evening: The “bats” have the opportunity to win two home games in a row in LaLiga against the capital club for the second time in the last 40 years. Valencia last achieved this between 1990 and 1992, when they won 2-1 against Los Blancos at the Mestalla. Thanks to the recent past, the six-time Spanish champions can draw optimism, but the recent results in the Primera División do not provide any reason for coach Rubén Baraja’s team to be brimming with self-confidence. Valencia have only won one of their last four games, recording just one point and losing twice. Baraja’s ensemble had previously won four times in a row. Most recently, Los Che failed to score twice in a row and even had to sit out once last weekend due to a house fire in Valencia. With ninth place in the table, the “Blanquinegros” are nevertheless in a pretty solid position. They are six points behind sixth place in the table and 18 points ahead of the relegation zone. By the way, your own goalscoring record is neutral: you have scored as many goals as you have scored, namely 29 each. At Real Madrid things are completely different: they have scored 54 goals, only Girona with 57 and Barça with 56 have more, and have conceded just 16 goals – that makes the best defense in the league! In addition, the team with the fewest shots per game (9.6) and the most shots (16.3) will meet on matchday 27.
Ancelotti reveals plan for Duo and also talks about Vinícius and Güler. Continue reading
Personnel and expected lineup
While seven players were still missing on the last matchday against FC Sevilla (1-0), on the 27th LaLiga matchday against FC Valencia there are suddenly “only” the cruciate ligament injuries Thibaut Courtois, David Alaba and Éder Militão who are not in the squad Real Madrid stand. As Carlo Ancelotti revealed at the press conference Jude Bellingham fit again after his ankle sprain. “He’s at 100 percent, didn’t train much with the team, but everything he did and had to do on an individual basis, he did. He is in very good shape and feels very comfortable with his ankle. He will play tomorrow,” said the Italian. Joselu was missing against the Andalusians due to ankle edema and is returning to the Madrid squad this week earlier than expected. Eduardo Camavinga and Daniel Carvajal have served their bans and are also ready to play again against Valencia. Will Ancelotti surprise with the starting eleven in Valencia? With Bellingham and Joselu back after their ankle problems, Carlo Ancelotti would have the option of leaving Vinícius on the bench against the “bats” as a protective measure to avoid another escalation. Real Madrid’s coach has already indicated that the 23-year-old will play and has also revealed that no special preparation discussions were necessary, but the question still arises: should Ancelotti protect the winger against Valencia and leave him on the bench or set it up even more so after the incidents of last year? Click here poll! Graphics: REAL TOTAL“>Enlarge
This is how Real Madrid could start in Valencia – Graphics: REAL TOTAL
The voices for the game
Carlo Ancelotti (Head Coach Real Madrid): “The closer we get to the end of the season, the more important the games become – especially against teams that are doing a very good job. Real Madrid always struggled to score points at the Mestalla. The opponent is doing it very well. Of course we need to be at our best.”
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Rubén Baraja (Cheftrainer FC Valencia): “I’m sure Real Madrid want to play a good game. We will try to minimize their qualities as a team. Madrid plays with eleven players and not just Vinícius. We can’t focus our whole game on him. They have a certain consistency and team spirit and despite the injuries, their team’s response has been very good so far.“
Statistics and special features
OVERALL BALANCE SHEET: Real Madrid and FC Valencia have faced each other in 197 competitive games to date. The balance is clearly in favor of the Madrilenians, who won 105 games. While Valencia won 52 times, 40 meetings ended in a draw. Goal balance: 370 to 244 from Real Madrid’s perspective. IS REAL EXPANDING ITS SERIES? The Spanish record champions have not lost any of their last 20 LaLiga games, but have recorded 15 wins and five draws. This is Los Blancos’ longest unbeaten streak in a LaLiga season since the last 23 games of the 2011/12 season under José Mourinho, who had 20 wins and three draws.
VINÍCIUS IM FOKUS: By the way, the streaming service NETFLIX is filming a documentary about Vinícius, which is due to be released in 2025, and wanted to be there for filming in the Mestalla. But FC Valencia puts a stop to this plan. “We cannot participate in something whose aim is neither known nor controllable and which aims to damage the image of our fans”, a source is quoted by Spanish sports newspaper AS. On the sporting side: Vinícius scored six goals in nine games against Valencia in the Primera División – only against Levante did he score as many goals in the Spanish top flight; against Valencia’s city rivals he needed two fewer appearances.
GOODBYE: For two FC Valencia strikers, the encounter with Real Madrid is something special. Diego Lopez played for the Royal U17s in 2017/18 Hugo Duro played for Castilla in 2020/21 and was even used in the first team three times by then professional coach Zinédine Zidane. López and Duro are considered part of Valencia’s attack; López has scored three goals in the current LaLiga season and Duro has already scored ten. López missed the last two games due to a broken cheekbone, but according to his coach the striker is fit to play against Real Madrid.
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Preliminary report
How does Valencia react to Vinícius? Real’s delicate return to the Mestalla
Real Madrid visits FC Valencia! Vinícius Júnior and Los Blancos will be going back to the Mestalla on Saturday (9 p.m.) for the first time since the racism scandal, where the action should at best revolve around football: Real can keep its lead at the top of the table stable – but the 27th matchday not only poses risks because of Vinícius.
02.03.2024, 00:06