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Valencia vs Real Madrid kicks off at 8pm GMT (9pm local time) on Saturday, November 7 at Mestalla.
In the UK, the match is being shown on Disney+.
Real Madrid have the chance to draw level with Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Saturday night, but José Mourinho isn’t taking anything for granted on their final trip to Mestalla.
Valencia are 19th in the table and have won only two of their 11 league games this season, but Mourinho was full of respect for Javier Aguirre’s side in his pre-match press conference.
“I look at Valencia as a club. The most important thing is tomorrow’s game, which I consider one of the most difficult in the entire league,” Mourinho said. “A coach who is very difficult, with a lot of lived experience and who knows perfectly the philosophy he wants for his teams. It will be a difficult match for us. To win you have to be at your best.”
Madrid arrive in superb form. They have won seven games in a row in all competitions, including the 2-1 Clásico triumph at Camp Nou, a 3-0 victory at Racing Santander and Wednesday’s dramatic 3-2 win over AEK Athens in the Champions League. They came from behind in Athens, with Federico Valverde scoring the late winner.
Mourinho was pleased with the result but made it clear he would prefer his side to avoid falling behind in the first place.
“It’s better not to come back, it’s better like in Santander when we are 3-0 up at half-time,” he said. “Coming from behind is positive, but also negative. It’s the belief, a rich bench, motivation of the group, it’s knowing what shirt you have… but there’s also a negative side and we have to work on that. Find more consistency when starting the games.”
Madrid are third with 27 points from 11 games, three points behind Barcelona and one behind Atlético Madrid. With Barcelona and Atlético meeting on Sunday, a win at Mestalla would put Madrid level with the leaders on 30 points. They have scored 28 league goals and conceded only 10.
Valencia go into the game with a little more belief after a much-needed 1-0 win at Elche last weekend, with Umar Sadiq scoring the winner. It was only their second league win of the season, and they have scored just eight goals in 11 games.
Madrid won 2-0 at Mestalla in February, and they have won four of the last six meetings between the sides. Valencia’s most recent win came at the Bernabéu in April 2025.
Spain
| # | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Last 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 12 | 34 | 30 | W L W W W |
| 2 | Atletico Madrid | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 8 | 14 | 28 | W W W W W |
| 3 | Real Madrid | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 28 | 10 | 18 | 27 | W W W W L |
| 4 | Real Betis | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 23 | W D L W D |
| 5 | Real Sociedad | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 19 | L W W W W |
| 6 | Sevilla | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 19 | -2 | 17 | L W L D L |
| 7 | Athletic Club | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 15 | W W L D D |
| 8 | Deportivo La Coruna | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 14 | 1 | 14 | W L D L D |
| 9 | Villarreal | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 12 | L W D L W |
| 10 | Celta Vigo | 11 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 12 | L D W D W |
| 11 | Alaves | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 17 | -2 | 12 | L D L L D |
| 12 | Rayo Vallecano | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 20 | -5 | 12 | W L D D W |
| 13 | Getafe | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 16 | -8 | 12 | W L D L W |
| 14 | Espanyol | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 14 | -1 | 11 | W L L D L |
| 15 | Osasuna | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 22 | -11 | 11 | L L W L D |
| 16 | Racing Santander | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 29 | -14 | 11 | L W L D L |
| 17 | Elche | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 18 | -4 | 10 | L W D D W |
| 18 | Levante | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 21 | -5 | 10 | L L W D D |
| 19 | Valencia | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 17 | -9 | 9 | W L D D L |
| 20 | Malaga | 11 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 21 | -13 | 5 | L D L D L |
Mourinho confirmed after the AEK game that Dean Huijsen, Ibrahima Konaté, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Arda Güler will all start. Huijsen and Konaté were unused substitutes in Athens, while Tchouaméni and Güler were rested.
Valverde is set to return to the starting XI after his winner in midweek, and Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham will also start.
Vinícius Júnior serves the final game of his four-match La Liga suspension. Rodrygo (knee), Raúl Asencio (leg) and Ferland Mendy (hip) remain out.
For Valencia, David Otorbi, Kayne van Oevelen, Diego López and Sergi Canós are all expected to miss out. Sadiq is likely to lead the line after his winner at Elche.
Valencia: Dimitrievski; Martinez, Tarrega, Pepelu, Gaya; Rodriguez; Maffeo, Mayol, Guerra, Rioja; Sadiq
Real Madrid: Courtois; Valverde, Konaté, Huijsen, Cucurella; Tchouaméni, Güler; Brahim, Bellingham, Diomande; Mbappé
For all Mourinho’s talk of it being difficult assignment, the table doesn’t lie and Valencia are not a good side. Madrid ought to win with plenty to spare.
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