Real Madrid have very little room for error in the thrilling La Liga title race as they host Valencia in league play on Saturday.
Los Blancos sit three points behind Barcelona with nine matches remaining, and the way their Clasico rivals are playing, there aren’t expected to be many opportunities to make up ground. If Madrid wish to position themselves to pounce on any eventual slip, they cannot afford to fall further back in the race.
With the club also into the Copa del Rey final and set to meet Premier League giants Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinals, Carlo Ancelotti must find places to make sacrifices and give key players rest for the run-in, as he cannot afford to overwork his star performers.
Valencia, meanwhile, are still battling against relegation near the bottom of the table and need to find points anywhere they can. They sit 15th on 31 points, four above third-bottom Leganes.
While there seems to be enough fodder below them to feel safe, that gap is far from a done deal, and a bad run of form could cause problems. Carlos Corberan’s side are on a restorative run of four matches unbeaten.
The Jugo Mobile runs through the latest team news and injury updates for both sides, including confirmed start lineups.
Real Madrid vs. Valencia lineups, confirmed starting 11, team news
Real Madrid have a real problem on their hands at the goalkeeping position. Starter Thibaut Courtois picked up a muscle injury on international duty in March, and backup Andriy Lunin suffered a calf injury early in the second half against Real Sociedad in midweek.
Lunin has recovered sufficiently to take a place on the bench but it means a first senior start for 19-year-old academy product Fran Gonzalez into a senior debut.
Also missing are long-term absentees Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao, while Dani Ceballos and Ferland Mendy need a bit longer to recover from their hamstring injuries. Ceballos is expected to be ready to face Arsenal next week, while Mendy’s availability is up in the air.
Brahim Diaz starts in attack, with Rodrygo dropping to the bench —another decision probably taken with the Arsenal match in mind.
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1, right to left): F. Gonzalez (GK) — L. Vazquez, Tchouameni, Rudiger, F. Garcia — Valverde, Modrid — Diaz, Bellingham, Vinicius Jr. — Mbappe.
Injured: Courtois (muscle, doubt), Lunin (calf, doubt), Ceballos (hamstring), Mendy (hamstring), Carvajal (knee), Militao (ACL).Suspended: None.
Valencia have a whopping three players suspended for this match, as all three of them triggered a yellow card suspension at the same time, picking up bookings last time out against Mallorca.
Captain Jose Gaya has managed to do so despite making just 16 appearances this season due to injuries, with four cautions in his past six games to pick up his ban. Also missing via suspension are full-back Luis Rioja and forward Dimitri Foulquier.
Meanwhile, injuries leave Ivan Jaime and Thierry Correia on the sidelines, with the former set to make his way back soon from a hamstring injury while the latter is done for the year with a cruciate ligament tear. The loss of Foulquier and Correia gives Bournemouth loanee Max Aarons a chance to start, having barely seen the field since joining in January. He does so on the right of a back five.
Valencia (5-4-1, right to left): Mamardashvili (GK) — Aarons, Tarrega, Diakhaby, Mosquera, J. Vazquez — D. Lopez, Guerra, Barrenchea, Almeida, D. Lopez — Sadiq.
Injured: Jaime (hamstring), Correia (ACL).Suspended: Gaya, Foulquier, Rioja.
Real Madrid vs. Valencia live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch this La Liga match across selected areas of the world’s major regions:
| Date | Time | TV channel | Streaming | |
| USA | Sat, Apr. 5 | 10:15 a.m. ET 7:15 a.m. PT | ESPN Deportes | Fubo USA, ESPN+ |
| Canada | Sat, Apr. 5 | 10:15 a.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT | — | TSN+ |
| UK | Sat, Apr. 5 | 3:15 p.m. BST | — | LaLigaTV, Premier Player |
| Australia | Sun, Apr. 6 | 3:15 a.m. AEST | beIN Sports 2 | beIN Sports Connect |
| India | Sat, Apr. 5 | 7:45 p.m. IST | — | GXR World |
