Valencia vs Real Madrid Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Even during Valencia’s struggles in recent years, this fixture has normally been a good one and Los Che have a tendency to raise their game against the strong sides so this could be a very competitive game. With both sides better going forward than at the back, there is real potential for goals in it.

Real Madrid were handed a huge boost by the earlier than expected return of Gareth Bale at the weekend. The Welshman came off the bench and got on the scoresheet to put himself in the frame for a start here. Even without him Real have continued to score plenty of goals but they are much more dynamic when he plays and we can expect Real to improve on an already impressive average of 2.67 goals per league game between now and the end of the season.

That figure goes up to 2.78 on the road so there is plenty of evidence to suggest they will cause a poor Valencia defence plenty of problems. However, both teams have scored in 67% of Real Madrid games in La Liga this term and that is also invariably the case when these sides meet, particularly at the Mestalla.

Valencia put in one of their best performances of the season to beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 on Sunday and with 3 wins from 6, there are a few signs that they finally might be on the right track. Defensively though they are still inconsistent as their recent 4-0 home loss to Eibar showed and their weekend clean sheet was their first in 10 months at home in La Liga. They average 2.1 goals conceded per home games this term, which clearly is an embarrassing stat for one of the giants of the Spanish game.

They do have a goal in them though. Valencia have scored at least once in 82% of their league games this season and their overall record of 1.41 goals scored per game is the best in the bottom half. After a turbulent few years Simone Zaza bagged his first Valencia goal on Sunday and will be hoping his performance was enough to secure him a start again up top here. That should be the case and backing Zaza to score anytime could be worth a punt as Valencia do create chances for their forwards.

Almost every possible stat and the recent head-to-head suggests this will be a high scoring game. There have been over 2.5 goals in 70% of Valencia home games and 78% of Real Madrid away games in La Liga this season. Both teams have scored in 70% of Valencia home games and 67% of Real Madrid away games. Therefore, backing Over 2.5 & Both Teams to Score at 8/11 looks like a decent plan here.