Real Madrid vs Valencia predictions and match preview for Wednesday’s Supercopa Semi-Final. Read on for analysis as the sides meet in Riyadh.
| Date | Wednesday 11th January 2023 |
| Kick-Off | 20:00 (CET) |
| Stadium | King Fahd International Stadium |
| Competition | Supercopa |
Real Madrid vs Valencia Preview
Real Madrid and Valencia meet in the first of the two Supercopa Semi-Finals. It’s the defending league champions against last season’s Copa del Rey runners-up and once again we are in Saudi Arabia for this competition with Riyadh’s King Fahd International Stadium the setting for this game.
It’s the third time the competition has been held in the Middle East with Real Madrid winning the trophy on each of the previous two occasions. They beat Atletico Madrid on penalties to win the 2019/20 Final having defeated this week’s opponents Valencia in the Semi-Final. They won the Supercopa for the 12th time last season, beating Athletic Club 2-0 in the Final.
They do head into this game on the back of a setback though after losing 2-1 away to Villarreal in LaLiga at the weekend. That gives Barcelona a 3 point cushion at the top of LaLiga and with some tough league games coming up, this is an important part of the season for Los Blancos and they need to find their stride quickly. Carlo Ancelotti has almost all of his star players available for this game with David Alaba and Aurélien Tchouaméni the most notable exceptions who haven’t travelled.
Valencia head to Saudi Arabia as outsiders to win the competition and it’s something of a “nothing to lose” mission for Gennaro Gattuso and his side. For the first time in his reign, the Italian is starting to come under a bit more scrutiny though after a poor restart which has seen them lose both league games since the World Cup, the latest being a shock 1-0 home defeat to lowly Cadiz.
The cups may prove a welcome distraction for Los Che. They also travel to Sporting Gijon next week in the Copa del Rey last 16 and with their hopes of European qualification via LaLiga fading slightly, the Copa may become a priority. It was their success in last season’s Copa del Rey which won them their ticket to Saudi Arabia but Valencia’s Supercopa record isn’t great, with just one triumph in the competition which came back in 1999.
Score Prediction: Real Madrid 2-1 Valencia
It feels like the early impact of Gennaro Gattuso is starting to wane slightly for Valencia and this is the first real tough patch he is having to negotiate. Real Madrid have rarely been outstanding this season but they’ll be keen to bounce back from their weekend loss and their superior individual quality may be the difference here.
PLEASE NOTE – Our predictions are not betting tips! No profits are guaranteed if you’re using them to bet on Spanish football. If you are gambling, do so responsibly and never stake more than you can afford to lose. BeGambleAware.
