Real Madrid surprisingly lost 1-0 at Getafe in LaLiga Santander last weekend, but after returning to winning ways in the Copa del Rey in midweek they will be determined to secure all three points when Valencia visit the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu this Sunday night (20:00 GMT). Stay with us for all the build-up to Real Madrid vs Valencia and then updates from the match itself.
Real Madrid vs Valencia – LIVE SCORE: 1-0
This is the start of our Real Madrid vs Valencia live blog, with updates from this LaLiga Santander fixture following on from here. As always, the entries nearest the top are the most recent ones.
HALF TIME: Real Madrid 1-0 Valencia
Karim Benzema’s penalty is all that separates the two teams at the break. It was a game of largely half-chances until Luka Modric hit the bar and Casemiro was brought down in the area. Valencia will still fancy their chances of taking something from this game, though.
Minute 43: GOAL FOR REAL MADRID!
Karim Benzema sends the penalty into the roof of the net to score his 16th LaLiga Santander goal of the season. Real Madrid 1-0 Valencia.
Minute 42: PENALTY TO REAL MADRID!
Casemiro drove forward from midfield and into the box before contact from Alderete led to him going down. Hernandez Hernandez did not hesitate in whistling for a penalty.
Minute 40: Modric hits the crossbar!
Vinicius picked out Modric on the edge of the box, which led to the Croatian shifting the ball onto his left foot and getting away from Gaya and Guilamon before sending a shot towards goal that came back out off the crossbar.
Minute 35: Benzema misses the target
Benzema shimmied away from Yunus Musah and sent a curling shot towards goal from 25 yards out that was a yard or so wide of Cillessen’s post.
Minute 32: Casemiro heads wide
Vinicius ran across the pitch and picked out Lucas, who sent a cross towards the near post for Casemiro to get on the end of, but the Brazilian could only head wide amid pressure from two Valencia defenders.
Minute 26: Militao booked
Valencia attempted a quick counter-attack, but Militao raced across and wiped out Gaya, which led to a yellow card. Clear booking for the Real Madrid centre-back.
Minute 14: Casemiro shown a yellow
Casemiro took out Daniel Wass as he played the ball in the air, which has seen him shown the first yellow card of the game.
Minute 13: Vinicius shows his pace
Vinicius Junior just gave Cristiano Piccini a taste of what could be to come, as he used his scintillating speed to get away from the Italian.
Minute 6: Militao’s header saved
Toni Kroos’ free-kick cross landed on the head of Militao, who rose highest and saw his effort saved by Cillessen.
20:00 GMT: Kick-off!
Valencia have got the action underway here at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. Stay with us for updates from Real Madrid vs Valencia.
19:50 GMT: Some good news for Real Madrid fans
Real Madrid supporters are often happy when arch-rivals Barcelona slip-up, and that is exactly what they did against Granada. After leading 1-0, they conceded an 89th-minute equaliser to draw 1-1. Read the match report HERE.
19:30 GMT: Real Madrid in the building
The Real Madrid players and coaches have arrived at the Bernabeu ahead of tonight’s match, which gets underway in 30 minutes’ time.
19:00 GMT: Valencia XI announced
Valencia’s starting line-up (4-4-2): Jasper Cillessen; Cristiano Piccini, Mouctar Diakhaby, Omar Alderete, Jose Luis Gaya; Helder Costa, Hugo Guillamon, Daniel Wass, Yunus Musah; Goncalo Guedes; Maxi Gomez.
18:20 GMT: Real Madrid XI announced
Vinicius Junior has come back into the starting line-up after missing out on last weekend’s defeat to Getafe in LaLiga Santander, with Rodrygo Goes dropping to the bench.
Real Madrid’s starting line-up (4-3-3): Thibaut Courtois; Lucas Vazquez, Eder Militao, David Alaba, Ferland Mendy; Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Luka Modric; Marco Asensio, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
18:00 GMT: Asensio’s return
Marco Asensio marked his long-awaited return from injury by scoring less than a minute after coming on against Valencia last season.
17:30 GMT: Will Rodrygo start tonight?
Real Madrid’s social media team have posted an image of Rodrygo Goes and Karim Benzema ahead of tonight’s match. Will we see Rodrygo start against Valencia?
17:00 GMT: Real Madrid vs Valencia predicted line-ups
Real Madrid’s predicted line-up (4-3-3): Thibaut Courtois; Lucas Vazquez, Eder Militao, David Alaba, Ferland Mendy; Luka Modric, Casemiro, Toni Kroos; Eden Hazard, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
Valencia’s predicted line-up (4-4-2): Jasper Cillessen; Thierry Correia, Mouctar Diakhaby, Omar Alderete, Jose Luis Gaya; Helder Costa, Hugo Guillamon, Daniel Wass, Denis Cheryshev; Goncalo Guedes, Maxi Gomez.
16:30 GMT: When does Real Madrid vs Valencia start?
This Saturday night’s match between Real Madrid and Valencia kicks off at 21:00 CET, the local time in Spain. For those living in the USA, you can tune in at 15:00 ET/12:00 PT, and for those living in the United Kingdom you can tune in at 20:00 GMT.
16:00 GMT: Where to watch Real Madrid vs Valencia
The LaLiga Santander clash between Real Madrid and Valencia will take place at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, January 8. For those living in the USA you can watch the match live on ESPN+, whilst for those living in the UK the match will be broadcast live on LaLigaTV.
