Valencia vs Real Madrid: Lineups and LIVE updates
Fresh from their European disappointment, Real Madrid will seek to return to winning ways when they travel to face Valencia on Sunday.
Carlo Ancelotti's side will undoubtedly be wounded after being knocked out of the Champions League in humiliating fashion by Manchester City. They were woefully second-best in every department as they fell to a 4-0 hammering to the Premier League champions.
With La Liga title already wrapped up by Barcelona, the emphasis for Los Blancos is now on holding onto second place in the table, with city rivals Atletico Madrid hot on their heels, and waiting for a chance to leapfrog and add more salt to their injury.
The Merengues will need an immediate response against a Valencia side, who are fighting for their lives towards the bottom and will come into this game in strong form, having won three of their last five games to slightly ease any relegation worries.
Valencia took a giant step towards securing their top-flight status for another season with a 2-1 victory over Celta Vigo in their last match, but they aren't completely out of sight just yet, sitting just two points above the 18th-placed Real Valladolid, although they do have a game in hand over majority of their relegation rivals.
Los Blancos won the reverse encounter 2-0, but have little to play for in this one. While it's far from cakewalk, Valencia will fancy their chances of all but securing survival by pulling off an upset due to the motivation factor of the two teams.
Valencia vs Real Madrid confirmed line-upsValencia XI (4-2-3-1): Mamardashvili; Correia, Cumart, Ozkacar, Gaya; Gonzalez, Guerra; Lopez, Almeida, Kluivert; Cavani
Real Madrid XI (4-3-3): Courtois; Vazquez, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Ceballos, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Asensio, Benzema, Vinicius Jr.
Valencia vs Real Madrid LIVE updatesReal Madrid's upcoming fixturesThe 2022-23 La Liga season doesn't end until June, which is a bad news for Real Madrid, who undoubtedly want it to end after what happened in the Champions League. They have won the Copa del Rey, but their hopes in La Liga and Europe are already crushed.
The Spanish giants now need to play out their final three games of the season pushing to pip Atletico Madrid to second, starting with a home game against Rayo Vallecano in midweek, followed by a trip to Sevilla next Saturday.
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