Carlo Ancelotti described Sunday’s clash against Real Sociedad as “one of our best performances of the season”. A goalless first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu ended in a draw, leaving the Creamy five points behind Barcelona after the final day of play. Ancelotti also mistakenly believed that Real Madrid scored more points than they did at the same stage last season, but he is well aware that they have no room for error. There is reason for optimism, because Valencia have never lost at home since March 2008. For 18 rounds of the current championship, the “whites” have chalked up 13 wins and three draws, which correspond to 42 points and the second position in the standings. It is impossible not to note the team’s best indicator in the league in terms of the quality of attack, which differed 38 times. Last week Madrid, not without difficulty, managed to defeat Atletico Madrid in extra time, which led the champion to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. Alaba, Lucas and Mendy, who has a hip injury, will not be able to play today.
Last Sunday Valencia lost points in the last minute in a duel with Valladolid (0:1). The team continues to race for the first victory since the World Cup in Qatar, but before this duel was left without a head coach. By the way, it was after the last fiasco and an unpleasant confrontation with the operator that coach Gennaro Gattuso left the club at the beginning of this week. The Orange went out on this game day only one point above the relegation zone. The captain of Valencia, Tony Lato, admitted after the game that “these are difficult situations”, while the team has not won on the road since the beginning of October. Moreover, in three of those four matches they conceded after the 85th minute, which ended up costing them four La Liga points. Interim boss Voro Gonzalez, who has been Valencia’s caretaker for several previous spells over the last 15 years, will be desperate for his players to play from the first to the last second. For 18 rounds the “bats” recorded five wins and draws, which corresponds to 20 points and 14th position in the standings. Guy, Correia, Niko and Domenech, who has a knee injury, will not be able to enter the football field. More today football predictions from the experts can be obtained from the link provided.
