No margin for error: Madrid pursues, Valencia flees

Abate the storm on both shores. Madrid recovers players, detaches itself from pessimism and maintains the distant hope of hunting down Atlético. Valencia, After signing his worst first round with three-point leagues, he has not lost two games and, although minor, begins to receive reinforcements (follow the game live on AS.com). In any case, the margin of maneuver is very narrow for both. Madrid already plays every game without a net and Valencia started the day four points from relegation, an unusual situation.

Even with seven casualties (Odriozola, Militao, Ramos, Marcelo, Valverde, Rodrygo and Hazard) the sky opens in Madrid with the return of Carvajal and Lucas Vázquez. The side has already suffered three injuries and a sanction this season, he has had to stop 94 days and has played only eleven games. In none of those that Madrid was lost (who has already eight defeats), which gives importance to his return. Lucas Vázquez is also ready, the unexpected essential who in September was a closet fund and who ended up chaining twenty games as a starter before the injury that has had him out in the last three matches of the team.

Return to 4-3-3

With the return of Kroos, with his sanction completed, the state of exception in Madrid ends. Zidane has nine starters (all except Ramos and the unstable Hazard) and that will allow him to regroup the team in the classic 4-3-3 and park the drawing of the three centrals, more with the absence of Marcelo, for whom that suit seems to be woven. Maybe Carvajal and Lucas Vázquez share the minutes on the right side, but if the two play, it looks like Vinicius will fall again, starter in the last two victories of Madrid. The Brazilian is always the weakest side of the rope.

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At Valencia, Lim has tried to disguise that he does not take his hands out of his pockets with four additions to the winter market, all at zero cost, of course. Piccini (returning from loan), Ferro, Oliva and Cutrone arrived, all players of little weight in their clubs of origin. None added more than twelve games or played more than 550 minutes. Only Cutrone, a forward loaned by Wolverhampton, has made his debut (he played 25 'at San Mamés). Today you can Ferro, Benfica center-back with whom he only participated in seven games. Guillamón sanctioned for forcing a yellow (Javi Gracia is also punished), Diakhaby injured and Mangala convalescing, Ferro will have to train couple with Paulista. Oliva has fewer options of starting it once he has recovered from his discomfort in a twin Carlos Soler, the new bat of the shield and the team's top scorer (six goals in the league, five of them from penalties).

Penalty night

Almost nothing has gone as expected at Valencia since Lim acquired his property. Four of the seven worst first laps in its history came under his tenure and his star signing, Guedes, for which the club paid 40 million, has shrunk extraordinarily: five goals and four assists in more than a year and a half. Neither is Maxi Gómez working this course. He has almost five times more offside (23, LaLiga leader) than goals (5). So the team has held on with the unexpected takeoff of young people like Musah, Racic or Manu Vallejo and with the loyalty of club flags such as Carlos Soler or Gayà. His best game was, precisely, against Madrid in the first round, in that 4-1 with three penalties against the madridistas, made unprecedented in the competition.

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That game had little to do with the trajectory of Valencia, which onlyor it has worked from set pieces. He has scored twelve goals like this, more than any other team, but they have only won two games (and 1-0) in the last three months. Against Madrid, as a visitor, he has not won for almost 13 years, with Koeman on the Valencian bench. Too long for a big one.