Real Madrid will be bidding to post an eighth straight win in all competitions when they continue their La Liga campaign against Valencia at Mestalla on Saturday night.

Jose Mourinho's side will enter the match off the back of a 3-2 victory over AEK Athens in the Champions League, while Valencia recorded a much-needed win in their last league fixture, beating Elche 1-0 away from home.

Match preview

There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a tough campaign for Valencia, with a total of nine points from 11 matches leaving them down in 19th spot in the La Liga table.

Los Che have the joint-worst attacking record in the division this term, netting just eight times, and also have the look of a team that could be facing a battle against the drop.

Umar Sadiq struck the only goal of the match in a 1-0 victory over Elche last time out, and Valencia will now aim to make it back-to-back wins in La Liga for the first time since May.

Javier Aguirre's side do have another game after this one ahead of the November international break, tackling Tavernes in the Copa del Rey on November 10.

Valencia lost both league games against Real Madrid during the 2025-26 campaign, including a 2-0 reverse at Mestalla last time out, but they do have a recent victory over Los Blancos to their name, triumphing 2-1 at Bernabeu in April 2025.

Real Madrid lead the overall head-to-head record between the two sides, having posted 114 wins to Valencia's 59, while 43 of their 216 matches have finished all square.

Los Blancos have been far from perfect this season, but they are currently in excellent form, winning each of their last seven matches in all competitions, including their last four in the league since the 2-1 reverse to Atletico Madrid ahead of the last international break.

Mourinho's side are currently third in the La Liga table, three points behind the leaders Barcelona, with their record in the league standing at nine wins and two defeats from 11 games.

Real Madrid posted a 3-2 win over AEK Athens in the Champions League on Wednesday to make it four victories in the league stage of the 2026-27 competition, and they are already in an excellent position to reach the next round of the tournament.

Los Blancos' 2-1 win over Barcelona in La Liga at the end of October was so important, and another success here would see Mourinho's team join the current leaders on 30 points.

Valencia La Liga form:

Valencia form (all competitions):

Real Madrid La Liga form:

Real Madrid form (all competitions):

Team News

Valencia will be without the services of Sergi Canos (knee), Diego Lopez (knee) and David Otorbi (hamstring) through injury on Saturday, while Jose Manuel Copete is a doubt, as he continues to recover from a knee issue.

Sadiq is now back from a hamstring injury, and having netted the winner off the bench against Elche last time out, the striker should now earn a spot in the XI.

Harvey Elliott is also available again after serving a suspension, but it remains to be seen whether the on-loan Liverpool attacker is brought back into the squad.

As for Real Madrid, Rodrygo (knee), Raul Asencio (leg) and Ferland Mendy (hip) remain unavailable, while Vinicius Junior will serve the final game of his domestic suspension.

Arda Guler and Aurelien Tchouameni were left out entirely against AEK in the Champions League but have already been confirmed as starters in this match alongside Dean Huijsen and Ibrahima Konate, with the duo set to feature in the middle of the defence.

Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham will once again be included in the starting side, while there should also be a return to the team for Federico Valverde, who scored Real Madrid's late winner in the five-goal thriller with AEK.

Valencia possible starting lineup:

Dimitrievski; Martinez, Tarrega, Pepelu, Gaya; Rodriguez; Maffeo, Mayol, Guerra, Rioja; Sadiq

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Valverde, Konate, Huijsen, Cucurella; Tchouameni, Bernardo; Guler, Bellingham, Diomande; Mbappe

We say: Valencia 1-2 Real Madrid

Valencia can make this a tricky match for Real Madrid, and we are backing the hosts to score, but Los Blancos' attacking quality should allow them to secure all three points.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.