Spain Super Cup
Neutral venue, the game will be played in Saudi Arabia.
Real Madrid Summary
Real Madrid dropped vital ground to Barcelona on the weekend after a disappointing showing in Villarreal. Los Blancos went down to a 2-1 loss in an entertaining game, but one where they looked far off their best.
By their standards, it has been a less-than-satisfying season so far, with poor results on either side of the World Cup.
This is a big competition high on the agenda. They head to Saudi Arabia determined to bring a trophy back and boost morale.
Carlo Ancelotti will send out his best available team for the Super Cup including right-back Dani Carvajal, who returns after a weekend suspension.
Los Blancos are missing David Alaba and Aurelién Tchouaméni, the latter picked up a knock late in the Villarreal defeat. Alvaro Odriozola and Mariano Díaz are returning to the squad but neither will play.
Valencia Summary
The confidence and mood in Valencia are extremely flat due to a bad atmosphere between the boss Gattuso and his chairman, but perhaps the more immediate worry is the poor performances and results.
Gattuso is desperate for more funds to improve the squad, but supporters right now are not convinced by the manager or the players. They were booed off after a woeful showing at home to Cadiz on Saturday.
Valencia is going to be missing winger Castillejo who injured his fingers in the disastrous loss to Cadiz on the weekend. This means Kluivert will begin on the right flank against Real Madrid.
Marcos André sat out the Tuesday night training session, but the media expect that it was precautionary and that he will be available for selection.
Nico González meanwhile is ruled out with a knock while long-term absentee Jaume remains sidelined by injury.
Betting Analysis: Real Madrid (n) – Valencia
The game is on neutral ground and for the purposes of this section, Madrid is considered the home (‘1’) side and Valencia (2) the away team.
Looking at the 1×2 market first where the favourite for this game is Real Madrid who is @ 1.57 to win. Valencia is in bad shape and the morale is a concern, they’re @ 6.0 to get the victory. The draw is @ 4.25.
Moving onto the Asian handicap market for this contest. Real Madrid -1 is @ 1.92 and looks the more appealing. They may not smash this handicap but should comfortably beat Valencia and if it is only by one goal, then the stake is returned. Valencia was extremely poor in their weekend match and looks vulnerable, even given the full-goal start. The only real positive for them is that perhaps their setup is more geared up to absorbing some pressure and hitting on breaks. It is very difficult to see Valencia avoiding a loss here unless Madrid is well off their game, which is rare in big matches like this.
Looking at The Under/Over market last of all where the line is set at 2.75. The match may have spells of being slow-paced as both teams bide their time to play max intensity. Over is 1.89 and the Under is 1.93.
