After gaining a much-needed Champions League victory at Roma in midweek, Real Madrid will seek to build more momentum in an enticing La Liga match-up with fast-improving Valencia at the Bernabeu on Saturday night.
The visitors will overtake Real in the table if they come away with three points, and the positivity injected by the midweek success in Italy will quickly evaporate if it is followed by another disappointing league result.
Let’s take a look at three burning issues ahead of the contest.
ISCO IN OR OUT?
One name has dominated Real Madrid’s headlines in the last few days: Isco.
The Spain international was left out of the squad for the midweek victory at Roma, and reports have since emerged that he was omitted as a disciplinary measure after refusing to shake manager Santi Solari’s hand following last weekend’s loss at Eibar, where he was also discarded.
Solari refused to discuss the supposed rift during his pre-game press conference on Friday, insisting he regards the matter closed. The best way for him to prove that is true would be selecting Isco in his starting line-up for the first time since he took charge a month ago – anything less would only serve to encourage further speculation about the midfielder’s future.
Finding a space for Isco, however, will not be straightforward. Lucas Vazquez and Gareth Bale were arguably Real’s best two players in midweek, both getting onto the scoresheet, and Marco Asensio also impressed after coming on as a late substitute.
And in such an important game for his side, Solari will be reluctant to make changes unless he truly believes in the player he is selecting – and at the moment, his faith in Isco appears to be very low.
CAN REAL CUT OUT THE ERRORS?
Although they came away from the trip to Rome with a morale-boosting win, there were still question marks against Real’s performance – especially after a first half which saw the Italian team squander several great chances to score, including a once-in-a-lifetime open goal miss by Cengiz Under.
That incredible let-off came about through something which has dogged Real throughout the season: a sloppy defensive error. On this occasion the guilty party was right-back Dani Carvajal, who tried to play his way out of trouble with a fancy back-heel but only succeeded in gifting possession to Roma.
A similar mistake was committed by fellow full-back Alvaro Odriozola in last week’s league loss at Eibar, and there have been several more instances of mental errors causing opposition goals throughout the season, with Raphael Varane particularly culpable.
Against a dangerous team like Valencia, Solari’s men cannot afford similar lapses. And after conceding 12 goals in their last five league games, Real desperately need to focus on tightening up at the back if they want to reignite their title challenge.
VALENCIA COMING INTO FORM?
After a frustrating start to the season, Valencia are slowly coming into form and starting to live up to their pre-season billing as one of the strongest teams in La Liga.
The performances delivered this term by Marcelino’s men have never been disastrous, as they spent the early stages of the campaign looking like a good team desperately trying to burst through mediocrity. At one point they went through a bizarre run of seven draws in eight games – all of which finished either 0-0 or 1-1 – to show they weren’t bad enough to lose, but neither were they quite good enough to win.
In the last couple of weeks, though, there have been signs of the minor improvements needed, especially in front of goal, to get Valencia’s season well and truly back on track. They scored three apiece in victories over Young Boys in the Champions League and Real Valladolid in La Liga, with Santi Mina netting twice in both games, as well as earning a scrappy 1-0 victory at Getafe.
Valencia are now just three points behind Real, having lost just twice in La Liga all season. Only 20 goals have been scored in their 13 league games so far (11 for and 9 against) so it will probably be low scoring – and it certainly won’t be easy for Real.
