Three talking points ahead of Valencia vs Real Madrid | La Liga GW 12 | OneFootball

The new year brings Real Madrid back to the same gruelling schedule the team battled with before the break and they return to action tomorrow night at Mestalla to play their game in hand.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men have a hectic month ahead, for the game against Valencia is only the beginning of a journey across competitions.

In less than a week, they take on Minera in the Copa del Rey before traveling to Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Super Cup.

Back in Spain after that, they return to action in La Liga before hosting RB Salzburg in the UEFA Champions League.

With so many events dispersed over a narrow timeline, Real Madrid must be at their best from start to finish, and it all starts tomorrow night.

Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Valencia vs Real Madrid.

Kicking off a new year

Of all the questions Carlo Ancelotti was asked in the pre-game press conference ahead of the game against Valencia, one stood out in particular as a bizarre question.

The manager was told that he had twice lost the first game of the new year after the Christmas break with Real Madrid. He was surprised by the fact, but spontaneously replied he would use the same to urge his players on tomorrow.

While the storyline of Real Madrid not doing well immediately after the break is not worrying in any capacity, it does bring to light that Los Blancos are taking to the field for the first time in the new calendar year tomorrow.

2024 was a special year for the men in white as it brought them many joys in the UEFA Champions League, La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup just before the break.

As they head into 2025 and step onto the grasses for the first time this year, they ill look to start off the new year with a win to carry forward the momentum and keep the fire burning. After all, they even have a record to set straight.

Back from suspension

Back in action. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Having finally caught a break from the hectic schedule for a week, Real Madrid’s dressing room will return to action tomorrow night fresher than ever before.

One player, however, will be looking forward to his return to the field more desperately than others – Vinicius Jr.

The Brazilian international was after all suspended for the men in white’s clash against Sevilla before the international break and did not feature in the team’s final game of the year.

Having completed his stint on the sidelines, he will be eager to take control and lead the team’s forward line against Valencia at a stadium where he has not been welcomed in recent years.

Mestalla has proven to be a hostile environment for Vinicius in the past, especially with repeated episodes of racist slurs.

Back at the stadium tomorrow, he will look to speak with his actions and silence the crowd. Moreover, with both Mbappe and Vinicius back in the side together, Ancelotti will hope the team can produce fireworks.

The game in hand

Valencia were not meant to be Real Madrid’s first opposition in 2025, for the two teams were meant to cross paths several months ago.

A sudden turn of events, however, saw Valencia experience torrential rains and flash floods in the weeks leading up to the game at Mestalla, leading to it being postponed.

Given the Merengues’ hectic calendar, the first week of January happened to be the best time to squeeze it in, and Real Madrid will thus be playing their game in hand tomorrow.

Heading into the match, Ancelotti’s men are second on the league table. They are two points ahead of Barcelona and can extend that lead to five points with a win at Mestalla.

Moreover, they can provisionally move two points clear of Atletico Madrid and take the top spot on the table although Diego Simeone’s men will still have a game in hand.

A win tomorrow, thus, will go a long way in ensuring that the men in white stay in contention for the league title and at a sizeable distance away from their arch-rivals.