Hassan Chamas


What: Spanish La Liga
Who: Valencia (3rd; 28 points) versus Real Madrid (2nd; 31 points)
When: Saturday 12th December, 2009, at 22:00 CET
Where: Mestalla, Valencia, Spain

Back in Business

It finally appears that Valencia are back to the form that saw them lift the 2004 league title. Gradually climbing up the table, Los Che were finally able to clinch third place after a vital win over Athletic Bilbao last weekend. With the presence of established Spanish internationals such as David Villa, David Silva and Juan Mata, joined by the developing Pablo Hernandez and Ever Banega, and the senior presence of players such as Joaquin, Carlos Marchena and David Albelda forming what is truly a remarkable and certainly talented side, clear skies appear on the horizon for the Mestalla outfit.

With Barcelona and Real Madrid very exposed to a potential slip – as Valencia and Sevilla themselves have shown earlier this campaign – everything is possible for Unai Emery’s troops this season, barring a killer dose of inconsistency that could blow their year as it has been witnessed so many times recently.


New Madrid

They say that there’s always a first time for everything. And that was oddly true as the Spanish press – more specifically Madrid-based Marca and AS – praised Real Madrid following their defeat against champions Barcelona in El Clasico a fortnight ago. The game that marked Cristiano Ronaldo’s first start after 55 days on the sidelines proved to be a key frame in Madrid’s campaign so far as Los Blancos matched Barcelona in every department and could have taken all three points had it not been for their lacklustre finishing.

Since that Barcelona clash Madrid have registered wins over Almeria and Marseille, with the returning Ronaldo scoring three times in both bouts and having a hand in the other goals. However, the world’s most expensive player will have to blame himself for missing the bus trip to Valencia as a kick at Juan Ortiz against Almeria meant that Ronaldo was given his marching orders. With Kaka also sidelined with a groin strain, Manuel Pellegrini’s team might be facing their first true task of the season.

 

 

Recent form

Valencia:
Valencia 1-1 RCD Mallorca (La Liga)
Valencia 3-1 OSC Lille (Europa League)
Athletic Bilbao 1-2 Valencia (La Liga)

Real Madrid:
Barcelona 1-0 Real Madrid (La Liga)
Real Madrid 4-2 Almeria (La Liga)
Olympique Marseille 1-3 Real Madrid (Champions League)


Key absences

Valencia: David Silva; Vicente Rodriguez.

Real Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo; Kaka; Guti (doubt); Ruud van Nistelrooy (doubt); Christoph Metzelder (doubt); Xabi Alonso (doubt).


Players to watch

Valencia – Juan Mata: Alongside Pablo Hernandez, David Silva and David Villa, the quartet is being quickly labelled in the Spanish press as La Liga’s Four Horsemen. Particularly, Mata is now a fully integrated starter at Los Che and a regular for the Spanish national team. He never fails to shine against his former team and could certainly give Iker Casillas a bumpy ride.

Real Madrid – Raul Albiol: Albiol took on his game to another level against Marseille, scoring his team’s second goal and commanding the defence alongside Pepe. The central defender will return to his boyhood ground this weekend, and will be eager to show just why Real Madrid picked him out of a bunch for a position that was long considered jinxed at the White House.


Match Prediction

A tough match to call given the good form of both teams lately. Los Che appear to be back to their best with a string of impressive results, but Real Madrid have a slighter edge given the way the return of Cristiano Ronaldo altered the team altogether. Even though the Portuguese star won’t be travelling to Valencia due to his suspension against Almeria in the previous round, Real nonetheless have what it takes to come up with a shy, yet vital 2-1 against their hosts.

 

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