On Saturday night, Real Madrid welcome Valencia to the Bernabeu as the 2021-22 La Liga season passes the halfway point.
Having lost just two of their 20 games, Los Blancos find themselves atop the table – five points clear of second-place Sevilla and 13 points ahead of third-place Real Betis.
✅ Karim @Benzema. 🕶 pic.twitter.com/GPWL0Vnabm— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) January 6, 2022
✅ Karim @Benzema. 🕶 pic.twitter.com/GPWL0Vnabm
Meanwhile, Valencia sit ninth – level with eighth-place Villarreal on 28 points and 18 points behind Real Madrid.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men enjoyed an 11-game unbeaten streak before the winter break, racking up nine wins and two draws in La Liga.
However, they got off to the worst possible start in 2022 – suffering a 1-0 away loss at the hands of Getafe.
It is worth noting that Real Madrid have avoided defeat in each of their previous 19 La Liga matches on home soil.
When you look at the bigger picture, Los Blancos have lost just four of their past 50 encounters across all competitions.
It goes without saying that Real Madrid will be eager to return to winning ways this weekend and register their fifteenth La Liga victory of the campaign.
Just like Real Madrid, Valencia were enjoying an impressive run of form in the lead-up to Christmas before losing after the winter break.
Jose Bordalas’ side picked up four wins and three draws before the winter break, including three consecutive victories over Celta Vigo, Elche and Levante.
However, they were beaten 2-1 by Espanyol last time out – seeing just 36% possession while facing 15 shots.
It is worth pointing out that Valencia and Real Madrid both recorded straightforward wins in the Copa del Rey in midweek.
Head-to-head: Valencia have only managed to win one of their last six meetings with Real Madrid in all competitions, suffering four losses in the process.
Four of the previous five meetings between Valencia and Real Madrid have produced over 2.5 goals, so we should see plenty of action on Saturday.
Team news: Real Madrid duo Dani Carvajal and Gareth Bale will miss Saturday’s clash through injury. Ferland Mendy, Karim Benzema and Luka Modric are also doubts.
As for Valencia, they will be without right-back Thierry Correia this weekend as he continues to recover from a muscle injury.
Given the 18-point gap between Real Madrid and Valencia, all the signs point towards a home victory here.
Forebet predicts that Real Madrid will get the better of Valencia on Saturday, scoring over 1.5 goals in the process.