Matchday 20
After the defeat against Getafe at the Coliseum and the cupping doubts against Alcoyano, Madrid receives the team that already has the Brazilian in their ranks
Vinicius is back. For Real Madrid this is great news, considering that some doubt seems to have loomed over the Whites after the defeat in Getafe and a long-suffering victory against Alcoyano in the Madrid debut in the Copa del Rey. It is not that it is a trend, for that, more games are needed, but the truth is that the leader already notes closely the presence of Sevilla as a chaser for the championship, five points away, with one game less and the conviction between the Lopetegui hosts that this may be the great opportunity to aspire to win the League.
After a match in Alcoy that left the feeling that the second unit is still far from the theoretical headlines and Ancelotti’s call to order after the carelessness at the Coliseum, where according to the Italian coach his team “was still on vacation”, Madrid need to regain their tone against Valencia to avoid any kind of alarm. In memory that second season of Carletto on the white bench -2014-15-, when a team that was going from strength to strength fell after the Christmas break.
That downward trajectory began precisely against Valencia, then on a visit to Mestalla. It was the first game of the year 2015 for Madrid, which yielded in the city of Turia after two goals from Barragán and Otamendi that left Cristiano Ronaldo’s starting point blank. The team is therefore a rival that Ancelotti does not trust a hair, which his team prevailed in the visit of the first round but with two goals from Vinicius and Benzema in the final stretch, with more punch than dominance.
«It cannot be said that there is dependence on Vinicius. He has had a great first part of the season and has helped us win games, like Benzema, but it is too much to talk about that at Madrid. He’s back and he’s going to help us, “Ancelotti explained in reference to the return of what has been one of the pillars of a prolific Madrid, resentful of his absence in recent games.
Now Madrid recovers its two struts in attack, the French after resting in the Cup and the Brazilian after overcoming the covid, which separated him from the first two white commitments of 2022. Asensio has a good chance of being the third point of the offensive trident , the one on the right side, after his goal in Alcoy starting from the bench and since Hazard and Rodrygo did not finish convincing starting from the beginning either. In the center of the field the lights point again to the already legendary trio formed by Casemiro, Modric and Kroos, with the Croatian fresh after being booked against Alcoyano and the German also rested after playing just the final quarter of an hour of the duel.
Bale, ‘X-file’
Under sticks the undisputed Courtois will return after the opportunity to Lunin and while Militao and Alaba double their efforts after not rotating the center of the defense in the KO tournament Lucas Vázquez and Mendy will relieve Nacho and Marcelo on the wings. All this with the losses of Jovic, isolated with covid, and Carvajal, Mariano and Bale, with physical problems. The Welshman continues to star in an ‘X file’ more than four months after wearing white for the last time and consuming his final stage as a Madridista almost anonymously. «She has a problem with her back, which is loaded, and she is not feeling well. Until it is one hundred percent, it cannot be used », Ancelotti explained his absence.
For its part, this Valencia de Bordalás, which the defeat against Espanyol on New Year’s Eve halted a remarkable progression has the loss of Hugo Duro, a Madrid youth squad and Valencian goal scorer in the first leg. They are doubt until the last moment Carlos Soler, touched after a blow in the Cup duel against Cartagena, in addition to Gabriel Paulista, Foulquier and Lato.
-Alignments:
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Real Madrid:
Courtois, Lucas Vázquez, Militao, Alaba, Mendy, Modric, Casemiro, Kroos, Asensio, Benzema and Vinicius. -
Valencia:
Cillessen, Piccini, Alderete, Diakhaby, Gayà, Hélder Costa, Guillamón, Wass, Musah, Maxi Gómez and Guedes. -
Referee:
Hernández Hernández (Committee of Las Palmas). -
Stadium:
Santiago Bernabeu. -
Time and TV:
21:00. Movistar LaLiga.
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